Avery Skinner and USA Volleyball hold off Serbia to win first Olympic match

MrsTylerKSR

On Monday, former Kentucky Volleyball star Avery Skinner came off the bench to help Team USA force a tiebreaker vs. China. Unfortunately, the comeback came up just short. Today, the script was flipped, with USA winning the first two sets vs. Serbia and the Serbians storming back to win the third and fourth and force a fifth. Thankfully, Team USA held on for the 3-2 win (25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 17-15) to stay alive in Group A, with one more match to go in pool play.

After an impressive debut on Monday, Skinner got her first start and played in all five sets. She was third on the team in scoring with 13 points on 11 kills behind Annie Drews (16 points) and Chiaka Ogbogu (14 points), who also had a team-high eight blocks. Skinner had two blocks and 14 total receptions. Through two matches, she has 30 points on 26 kills, 31 receptions, two aces, and two blocks. Not too shabby for a rookie.

USA will be back in action Sunday morning vs. France (7 a.m. ET, NBC). The Americans are now in second place in Pool A with three points behind Serbia (four points). China (two points) and France (zero points) face off tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET. The top two teams in pool play move on to the quarterfinals on Tuesday, August 6.

USA Volleyball Schedule

Sunday, August 4

7:00 AM: France vs. United States (Avery Skinner); Preliminary Round – Pool A; NBC, Peacock

Tuesday, August 6: Quarterfinals
Thursday, August 8: Semifinals
Saturday, August 10: Bronze Medal Match
Sunday, August 11: Gold Medal Match