WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue volleyball alum Annie Drews led Team USA in its first match of the Paris Olympics behind a 29-point performance despite the U.S. ultimately falling to China in a reverse sweep, 3-2 (25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13).
Drews set the tone for the match with the first kill by either team and went on to record three kills and a dig to set up the Americans' fourth point. On the day, Drews totaled 26 kills and three digs to lead all players with a .352 hitting clip and eight digs.
Drews and Team USA will have a day off before taking on Serbia on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on USA Network/Peacock. A re-run of the show will air on NBC at 5 p.m. ET.
After Pool A's first set of matches, the American women sit in third place with one point. Serbia leads with 3 points (1-0 record), China in second-place with 2 points (1-0 record), the U.S. in third place with one point (0-1 record) and France scoreless (0-1 record).
The U.S. is a member of Pool A, which includes Serbia, China and host country France. After a round-robin play, the top-two teams from each pool and the two best third-place teams will qualify for the quarterfinals. Rankings are determined on a point system in which teams receive three points for a 3-0 victory or 3-1 victory, two points for a 3-2 victory and one point for a match lost in the fifth set.
U.S. WOMEN'S INDOOR VOLLEYBALL OLYMPIC SCHEDULE
July 29 | vs. China, L 2-3
July 31 | vs. Serbia | 11 am ET | USA/Peacock
Aug. 4 | vs. France | 7 am ET | NBC/Peacock
Aug. 6 | Quarterfinals
Aug. 8 | Semifinals
Aug. 10 | Medal matches
Drews set the tone for the match with the first kill by either team and went on to record three kills and a dig to set up the Americans' fourth point. On the day, Drews totaled 26 kills and three digs to lead all players with a .352 hitting clip and eight digs.
Drews and Team USA will have a day off before taking on Serbia on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on USA Network/Peacock. A re-run of the show will air on NBC at 5 p.m. ET.
After Pool A's first set of matches, the American women sit in third place with one point. Serbia leads with 3 points (1-0 record), China in second-place with 2 points (1-0 record), the U.S. in third place with one point (0-1 record) and France scoreless (0-1 record).
The U.S. is a member of Pool A, which includes Serbia, China and host country France. After a round-robin play, the top-two teams from each pool and the two best third-place teams will qualify for the quarterfinals. Rankings are determined on a point system in which teams receive three points for a 3-0 victory or 3-1 victory, two points for a 3-2 victory and one point for a match lost in the fifth set.
U.S. WOMEN'S INDOOR VOLLEYBALL OLYMPIC SCHEDULE
July 29 | vs. China, L 2-3
July 31 | vs. Serbia | 11 am ET | USA/Peacock
Aug. 4 | vs. France | 7 am ET | NBC/Peacock
Aug. 6 | Quarterfinals
Aug. 8 | Semifinals
Aug. 10 | Medal matches