Women's Sitting Team Wins World Cup; Men Beat Algeria

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 25, 2010) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team won the WOVD (World Organization for Volleyball Disabled) World Cup in Port Said, Egypt, after defeating Netherlands, 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19), in the gold medal match on Thursday.

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team, ranked No. 2 in the world, finished the tournament with a 6-0 record and lost only three sets, all to Netherlands.

The U.S. Men's Sitting Team finished the tournament with a 25-19, 25-11, 25-9 sweep of Algeria and a record of 2-5.

Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.) again led the U.S. Women with 26 points. Kendra Lancaster (Westfield, Ind.) added 14.

Although Netherlands served aggressively, the U.S. Women’s Sitting Team dominated at the net, hitting and blocking with high efficiency.

"Apart of a few unforced errors, we played well as a team particularly in transition" Holloway said. 

U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Head Coach Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) started Holloway, Lancaster, Heather Erickson (Fayetteville, N.C.), Lora Webster (Cave Creek, Ariz.), Brenda Maymon (Sellersburg, Ind.), Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill.) and Kari Miller (Washington, D.C.) at libero. Gina McWilliams (The Colony, Texas) started the third set for Holloway.

The U.S. Men’s Sitting Team was paced by three different players with hitting percentages over 0.600: Brent Rasmussen (Omaha, Neb.) with 0.636, Edgar Laforest (San Juan, Puerto Rico) with 0.667 and Roderick Green (Monroe, La.) with 0.667.

As a team, the United States hit 0.454; its best of the tournament.

“The team really rallied today for a great win to finish off the tournament moving into worlds,” said Rasmussen, the U.S. Men’s team captain. “We gained some great experience in tough matches to know what it takes to overcome adversity."

The United States will host the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships on July 11-17 at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla.

“This was great experience for the whole team as we look forward to world championships in the U.S.,” said U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Head Coach Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania). “We feel this tournament helped prepare us mentally and physically.”

The 2010 WOVD World Cup
March 21-26 in Port Said, Egypt

U.S. Tournament Results
Women
Pool Play
March 21
USA def. Netherlands, 22-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-11
March 22
USA def. Slovenia, 25-19, 25-12, 25-13 
USA def. Russia, 25-12, 25-17, 25-17
March 23
USA def. Egypt, 25-9, 25-8, 25-5
Semifinals
March 24
USA def. Russia, 25-14, 25-18, 25-8
Championship
March 25
USA def. Netherlands, 25-20, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19

Men
Pool Play
March 21
Ukraine def. USA, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21
USA def. Great Britain, 25-19, 25-21, 25-20
March 22
Iran def. USA, 25-9, 25-19, 25-11
March 23
Iraq def. USA, 21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 13-15
Crossover
March 24
Germany def. USA, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18
Ukraine def. USA, 3-2
March 25
USA def. Algeria, 25-19, 25-11, 25-9

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: Bill Hamiter, Brad Johnson, 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, Sitting Volleyball, U.S. Men's Sitting Volleyball Team, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team