PARIS – Two Penn State Women’s Volleyball greats have a chance to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals after Team USA defeated Brazil 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11) Thursday in the semifinal round of the 2024 Paris Games.
Team USA won its first ever gold in women’s volleyball with a win over Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Haleigh Washington ’18 and Micha Hancock ’15 helped win that medal and are back on the roster this year with the hopes of adding a second gold when USA plays Italy in the final on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.
Washington helped USA hang on for the five-set win over Brazil on Thursday, contributing two kills, two blocks and one ace as a starting middle blocker.
USA fell to China in the first match of pool play but has since reeled off four consecutive victories. The wins came over Serbia, France, Poland and Brazil, three of which are in the top 10 of the world rankings.
Italy enters the gold medal match ranked first in the world, while USA is third. Fans can watch the action live on NBC or streaming on Peacock.