Texas volleyball's Madisen Skinner among four with Longhorn ties named to U.S. national team

The U.S. women’s national volleyball team will have a burnt-orange hue as it opens the 2024 Volleyball Nations League this week in Rio de Janeiro.

Four players with Longhorns ties will compete on the 14-player roster, including former Texas middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Brionne Butler and libero Zoe Fleck and current Texas outside hitter Madisen Skinner, who earned most outstanding player honors at the NCAA Final Four in December after helping the Longhorns win a second consecutive national title.

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Fleck and Skinner are first-time selections for the U.S. national team.

U.S. coach Karch Kiraly has said that he will use the early VNL matches to help choose the players for his 2024 Paris Olympic Games roster, which will have 12 players plus an alternate.

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The U.S. women are the reigning Olympic champions and rank No. 2 in the world. They have won the VNL three times (2018, 2019, 2021) since its inception in 2018. In 2023, they finished fourth overall.

This week's tournament runs Wednesday through Sunday. The U.S. will play Thailand (No. 13 in the world), China (No. 6), Brazil (No. 3) and the Dominican Republic (No. 8).

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas volleyball's Madisen Skinner among four with Longhorn ties named to U.S. national team