Vaughan went on to make history as an integral part of the second American squad in history to win a WUG medal by taking the bronze (a men's Team USA also won bronze in 1972, although they did so by finishing third in a three-team tournament), and the first group of women or men to do so since the ACHA began stocking the teams, an era that began in 2001 on the men's side. In Team USA's opening game in Trentino, on December 10, 2013, Vaughan made 33 saves in a 4–2 win to outduel Russian goalie Anna Prugova, who regularly competed for the senior Russia women's national ice hockey team, including at both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia's roster also included several other regulars with the nation's lead national team, including Yekaterina Nikolayeva and Anna Shukina. Although Russia bounced back to top Team USA in a shootout in the tournament semifinals, the Americans recovered to defeat Japan 3–1 for the bronze medal – thanks to another stellar effort from the Penn Stater, with 37 saves on 38 Japanese shots.