The US Women’s Volleyball Team is one of the world’s powerhouse teams, winning medals in almost any tournament. Regardless of whether it’s a senior or an U21 game, if the US Women’s Team is there, whoever faces them won’t have an easy game.
Today, we’ll look at the four rising stars of US Women’s volleyball. When preparing for your point spread betting, these are the names you should take into consideration. These women’s presence and performance can make or break a game, so this is essential knowledge for fans, especially when you have bets on the line. With their constantly high performance, your expectations won’t be disappointed. And hopefully, you’ll have the right wagers!
Kara Bajema
When a US Women’s National Team coach says a player has “an arm,” that’s someone worthy of your attention. And this time, that attention should go to Kara Bajema, the 25-year-old outside hitter from Bellingham, Washington.
Bajema’s stats speak for themselves as well. In her senior team debut against Canada, she scored 12 points with nine kills, two blocks, and an ace. And before getting called for the senior squad, Bajema had already been lending her volleyball skills professionally in Poland, Italy, and Turkey. She currently plays for the Turkish team, VakifBank S.K.¾the team she helped defeat the prior year.
Khalia Lanier
Sports excellence seems to be a Lanier family trait, and Khalia has no shortage of it. As the daughter of NBA legend Bob Lanier, Khalia has been making waves in the volleyball world for years. She was part of the 2011 Future Select Team, and by 2015, she’d already made it to the US Women’s U18 Team. She won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award that same year, establishing herself as the best high school volleyball player of 2015.
In 2017, Lanier was scouted for the U20 Team, where she led her team as the captain and won the gold medal in the NORCECA Women’s U20 Pan American Cup. And as if that’s not enough, she was the highest-scoring player in that championship game, earning a total of 16 points.
This is why her 2023 debut for the senior national team comes as no surprise. Lanier’s high-level skills can only bring the team even higher than before.
Avery Skinner
Like Lanier, Avery Skinner is another exemplary volleyball player from a family of athletes. Her father, Brian Skinner, spent 14 years with the NBA after starting as the first-round draft pick for the Los Angeles Clippers. And for a bit of healthy competition, Avery’s younger sister Madi also plays volleyball.
Most of Avery’s volleyball time was during her four years at the University of Kentucky. In her first year of playing, she was the second-highest scorer of the season, with 362 kills, and was subsequently called for the SEC All-Freshman Team.
She spent 2019 nursing a knee injury but came back even stronger in 2020 when she led Kentucky to their first NCAA volleyball championship title. Afterward, she spent a year as a graduate transfer for Baylor, closing her season with 355 kills.
Skinner’s senior team debut in 2022 was quite an eventful one, as well. She played for the US Women’s Team in the Pan Am Cup and Pan Am Cup Final Six, earning the Best Spiker and Best Scorer awards for the entire tournament. Not a bad debut, if we say so ourselves, especially after a devastating injury in 2019.
Norah Sis
Outside hitter Norah Sis isn’t even finished with her studies at Creighton University yet, but she’s already got the attention of the national team. She’s currently a member of the US U21 Team, debuting in 2022 and winning a gold medal in the process. And her performance was quite a standout, too; she won Second Best Spiker, with 32 kills, in the U21 Pan American Cup.
Now that Sis is in her junior year at Creighton, it will be interesting to see how she juggles her volleyball responsibilities between college and U21 games. For her college Conference, Big East, Sis is constantly getting recognized as the player of the year and the most outstanding player¾a testament to her constant hard work and sheer talent. Norah Sis is a major asset for both teams, so it’s only a matter of time before she joins the stalwarts of the senior team. Let’s just hope she doesn’t burn herself out with the number of back-to-back games she plays on some days.
