After grabbing the eighth and final ticket to the 2025 Volleyball Nations League knockout stages, Team USA’s journey is over. Coach Erik Sullivan’s strategy of shining the spotlight on young talents and debutants like Lexi Rodriguez resulted in some thrilling, close-contest wins. Unfortunately, defending champions Italy proved insurmountable, despite Team USA’s tenacity. Yet it’s fitting.

The 2025 VNL action started with the defending champions defeating USA Volleyball in Rio de Janeiro. Sullivan’s girls fought hard in that match, and Italy had to overcome a 21-14 deficit in the third set to beat the Americans 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 30-28). Wednesday’s battle in Łódź, Poland, was even more intense, albeit resulting in another sweep for Italy.

“The United States is knocked out of the Volleyball Nations League in the quarterfinals by No. 1 seed Italy with a 22, 21, 26 sweep,” wrote Nebraska-based volleyball reporter Lincoln Arneal. However, this time, the women representing the stars and stripes gained significant ground, losing 25-22, 25-21, and 28-26. In an interesting contrast, Olympian Avery Skinner and debutant Lexi Rodriguez had standout performances.

“Avery Skinner led the USA with 11 kills. Franklin added 7 kills and a block. Lexi Rodriguez recorded a match-high 14 digs,” wrote the Huskers Illustrated writer. Unfortunately, their performances were not enough to derail Italy’s monstrous 27-game win streak. While her team couldn’t break Italy’s world-record win streak, this wasn’t the first time Rodriguez stood out.

Lexi Rodriguez made a blistering VNL debut this year, getting the highest digs in her match against Serbia. The 22-year-old former Husker notched 17 digs to help her team make a comeback win against Serbia. While their second match against Italy at this year’s VNL wasn’t merely a Cinderella story, there was a silver lining.

Lexi Rodriguez and Co. are optimistic

While Team USA’s VNL journey ended against Italy, the loss didn’t diminish the squad’s spirit or ambitions. While Coach Sullivan did make a deliberate choice to exclude several Olympic medalists from the squad, his experimentation with the young talent bore fruit. “I think the progress we have made since we got in the gym in May has been great,” Sullivan said after the loss.

“I thought we played really hard. We still have to figure out some moments where we just give the other team too much opportunity,” said the U.S. head coach. However, he also highlighted the progress they’ve made in the course of just one tournament. “We were much more competitive to play that same roster two months later,” Lexi Rodriguez’s coach elaborated about putting up a better fight against Italy.

“I’m real proud of that, but we still have some work to do,” said the coach. Olympic medalist Avery Skinner echoed similar thoughts. “I am proud of us for sticking with it until the end,” the veteran explained. “We are super young, and each week it has been building on what we did the week before. The summer is long, and we have another tournament,” said Skinner.

What’s more? The Team USA squad won’t have to wait too long for their next opportunity. The 2025 FIVB World Championships kick off in August in Thailand. While Team USA is yet to announce the official roster, Lexi Rodriguez has already earned a spot on the wide roster for her troubles. After that quarterfinal performance, it’s safe to assume her chances only went up.