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VNL: USA completes sweep of QC leg after turning back Thailand

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The United States won all four of their matches in Week 2 of the VNL in Quezon City. Photo courtesy of Volleyball World." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/06/19/06192022-vball_team-usa.jpg"/><figcaption>The United States won all four of their matches in Week 2 of the VNL in Quezon City. Photo courtesy of Volleyball World.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - The United States completed an unbeaten run in Week 2 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), after a 17-25, 25-13, 25-23, 25-18 win against Thailand on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.The Americans won all four of their assignments in the Quezon City leg, improving to 7-1 for 21 points. The reigning Olympic gold medalists closed in on a spot in next month&#x27;s finals in Ankara, Turkey.&quot;It was awesome. All the teams are incredible, we can&#x27;t take anything for granted,&quot; said Ali Frantti, who led the Americans&#x27; charge against Thailand.&quot;It&#x27;s going to be a battle. It&#x27;s going to be a grind each day. It&#x27;s going to be harder and harder. I think all the competition is good. You know, we will gonna take it one day at a time and focus on what&#x27;s next,&quot; she added.A Penn State product, Frantti, who came through with 27 points, including two blocks, and 10 digs, was satisfied at the way the Americans responded after yielding the opener to the Thais.&quot;We were able to settle in and get over the nerves and I think our team did a good job in regrouping,&quot; said Frantti, who also led the scoring in USA&#x27;s straight-set romp of Poland on Friday.Kelsey Robinson had 11 points, 16 digs and seven receptions, middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Anna Stevenson each scored 10 points, while libero Justine Wong-Orantes collected 16 digs for USA.One of the crowd favorites, Frantti was delighted with the reception she and the Americans received from the almost 5,000 fans at the fabled Big Dome.&quot;Oh, it&#x27;s unbelievable! I couldn&#x27;t hear myself on the court. The fans are so loud. It was an unbelievable experience I won&#x27;t forget. It&#x27;s amazing how you guys love volleyball so much. I really appreciate it,&quot; said Frantti, who is making her USA debut this year.With Lauren Carlini taking charge of distributing plays in the second set, Frantti and Robinson were able to produce the offense for the Americans to dominate and level the match after the Thais took the opener.Ajcharaporn Kongyot and Chatchu-On Moksri, connecting well with setter Pornpun Guedpard, were solid in giving Thailand its first set lead.The Thais had only a win to show in the Philippine leg and remained in the middle of the standings with an even 4-4 slate.Ajcharaporn finished with 25 points and 11 digs while Chatchu-On contributed 13 points and 13 digs for Thailand.In an earlier game, Belgium outlasted Bulgaria, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 17-15 behind a 26-point performance from Britt Herbots.With the win, Belgium remained outside the relegation zone as they grabbed a second straight victory and third overall in eight matches.

The United States completed an unbeaten run in Week 2 of the VNL, after a 17-25, 25-13, 25-23, 25-18 win against Thailand on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.