U.S. Sitting Teams Pick Up Wins in Egypt

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org     

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 21, 2010) – The U.S Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team defeated Netherlands in a five-set battle while the U.S. Men went 1-1 on Sunday, the first day of the WOVD World Cup in Port Said, Egypt.

On Monday, the U.S. Women, ranked No. 2 in the world, will play Slovenia and Russia while the U.S. Men will face Iran.

The U.S. Women came back from a two-set deficit to defeat the Dutch, 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-11).

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team had a tough draw for its opening match as Netherlands was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing where the U.S. Women took silver. Moreover, the Dutch team sought revenge for the United States’ straight-set victory in last year’s gold-medal match in the Eurocup, which Netherlands hosted.

The Dutch played with emotion as the U.S. Women got off to a sluggish start. The first set went back and forth with the Americans making numerous unforced errors. The Netherlands took advantage of the missed cues, and won the first set.

The second set started much like the first with the Netherlands playing well and the United States still out of rhythm. But as the set went on, the Americans began to settle down, gain momentum and show signs of overcoming their jet lag despite a 22-25 set loss. They carried the momentum into the third set, which they dominated, 25-15.

Set Four was a battle that ended with a close win for Team USA. In the fifth set, the Americans were down 8-6 on the side change. But the U.S. Women went on a 9-3 run to pull out the victory.

"I thought the ladies played with a lot of heart coming from two sets down to win the match. We knew that the Netherlands would play with a lot of emotion and I felt we did a good job of overcoming all these obstacles," U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Head Coach Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) said.

Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.) led the U.S. Women with 20 points. Lora Webster (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill.) added 18 points each.

In the men’s bracket, the United States opened with a 22-25, 23-25, 21-25 loss to Ukraine, but played the best it has all season. The U.S. Men blocked well and had some key passes to stay in each set.

Eric Duda (Gainesville, Fla.) was the kill leader with 12 for the match with an overall hitting percentage of .360. Roderick Green (West Monroe, La.) added eight kills. Brad Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.), Edgar LaForest (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and James Stuck (New Kensington, Pa.) each had three blocks to add critical points to the match.

"We were able to put together a pretty good match,” said U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Head Coach Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania). “While we did not prevail, we played hard and competed well as a team."

Later on Sunday, the U.S. Men took a 25-19, 25-21, 25-20 victory over Great Britain. Once again, Team USA responded with solid passing and hitting behind point leader Brent Rasmussen (Omaha, Neb.) with 15. Other contributors were Duda with eight points and Green with seven.

"It was satisfying to see the team come back and secure a win after our earlier match against Ukraine. We involved our full roster to gain some much needed experience," Miraku said.

U.S. Tournament Results/Schedule (All times CT)
Men
March 21
Ukraine def. USA, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21
USA def. Great Britain, 25-19, 25-21, 25-20
March 22
USA vs. Iran, 4 a.m.
March 23
USA vs. Iraq, 11 a.m.

Women
March 21
USA def. Netherlands, 22-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-11
March 22
USA vs. Slovenia, 4 a.m. 
USA vs. Russia, 9 a.m.
March 23
USA vs. Egypt, 4 a.m.

U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team
Number Name (Hometown/Resident athletes at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. are noted)
1 Lora Webster (Cave Creek, Ariz.)
3 Brenda Maymon (Sellersburg, Ind./Edmond, Okla.)
4 Michelle Gerlosky (Griffin, Ga./Edmond, Okla.)
5 Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash./Edmond, Okla.)
6 Heather Erickson (Fayetteville, N.C.)
9 Gina McWilliams (The Colony, Texas)
10 Kari Miller (Washington, D.C./Edmond, Okla.)
13 Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill./Edmond, Okla.)
15 Kendra Lancaster (Westfield, Ind.)
18 Alex Gouldie (St. Paul, Neb.)

Head Coach: Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.)
Assistant Coach: Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania)
Team Leader: Dixie Collins (Marshall, Va.)
Athletic Trainer: Brian Choate

U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team
Number Name (Hometown/Resident athletes at the University of Central Oklahoma are noted)
2 Dan Regan (St. Louis, Mo./Edmond, Okla.)
3 Charles Swearingon (Gulfport, Miss./Edmond, Okla.)
4 Edward O'Neil (Amherst, Mass./Edmond, Okla.)
5 Eric Duda (Gainesville, Fla./Edmond, Okla.)
7 Brad Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.)
8 James Stuck (New Kensington, Pa./Edmond, Okla.)
9 Hugo Storer (Houston, Texas)
10 Edgardo LaForest (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
11 Roderick Green (West Monroe, La./Edmond, Okla.)
12 Brent Rasmussen (Omaha, Neb.)
13 Josh Franklin (Houston, Texas)

Head Coach: Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania)
Assistant Coach: Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.)
Team Leader: Dixie Collins (Marshall, Va.)
Athletic Trainer: Brian Choate

Tags: Alexandra Gouldie, Bill Hamiter, Brad Johnson, Brenda Maymon, Brent Rasmussen, Dan Regan, Edgar Miraku, Edgardo Laforest, Eric Duda, Gina McWilliams, Heather Erickson, Hugo Storer, James Stuck, Josh Franklin, Kari Miller, Katie Holloway, Kendra Lancaster, Lora Webster, Nichole Millage, Roderick Green, Sitting Volleyball, U.S. Men's Sitting Volleyball Team, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team