U.S. Sitting Teams Go 1-1 on Worlds' First Day

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

EDMOND, Okla. (July 11, 2010) – The U.S. Women’s and Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team had mixed results on their first day of pool play at the 2012 World Championships at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team defeated Germany, 3-1 (25-10, 20-25, 25-14, 25-16) while the Men’s Team fell to China, 0-3 (10-25, 23-25, 17-25).

Both teams will be back in action on Monday, when the U.S. Men will play Bosnia Herzegovina at 6 p.m. CT on Court 2 and the U.S. Women will face Japan at 8 p.m. CT on Court 1. Live video streaming of the matches is available at http://administration.uco.edu/ucowc/worlds/streaming.php.

The top three teams in pool play will advance.

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team got off to a strong start against Germany, but then succumbed to nerves in the second set.

“It was all our mistakes,” Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.). “It was home-court jitters.”

U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Head Coach Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) got the team back on track by having it focus on fundamentals, particularly passing and serving.

“Germany is a good team. Their net play was very good. It was good for us to overcome obstacles,” he said. “Once we started hitting our line shots, they didn’t really adjust their block.”

Holloway had nine kills for the U.S. Allison Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.) had nine kills and a hitting percentage of .600. Heather Erickson (Fayetteville, N.C.) scored with five aces and Kendra Lancaster (Westfield, Ind.) had three blocks.

Nerves were also a problem for the U.S. Men’s Sitting Team, but China seemed to jump on every U.S. mistake.

“What it comes down to is that we have to execute better,” said U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Head Coach Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania). “I told them to be mindful that this is a long journey. I still feel fine about making the top three, which is our goal."

In the first set, the United States fell behind 9-2 before scoring on China’s setting error and Brent Rasmussen’s (Omaha, Neb.) setter dump. The teams traded points until China’s lead was 12-7. But a strong Chinese server helped his team score the next seven points, including an ace, to put China ahead 19-7 and it never looked back.

Team USA got off to a better start in the second set and held an 8-7 lead at the first technical timeout (TTO), scoring on a kill and ace by Stuck and a kill by Rasmussen along with several Chinese errors.  The teams were tied at 11-11 when China got a run of three points to lead 14-11. China’s lead was four at 19-15 when China was called for a hand lift and the U.S. scored on Eric Duda’s (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) ace to pull to within two at 19-17. The teams exchanged points until China’s lead was 21-18. The U.S. scored on James Stuck’s (New Kensington, Pa.) kill, then scored two more points on attacks by Stuck and Roderick Green (West Monroe, La.) to tie the score at 21-21. China called timeout and ended the run with a kill and went up by two on a block. Team USA came back to tie on Green’s kill plus a China error. But China reached set point with a kill and ended it with a final attack.

China led 8-6 at the first TTO of the third set. Still leading by two at 12-10, China scored three straight points on a kill, block and U.S. error to go ahead 15-10 and then used another run to lead 18-11. Later, trailing 22-14, the U.S. scored three straight points on a kill from Edgar Laforest (San Juan, Puerto Rico), an ace from Dan Regan (St. Louis, Mo.) and China’s double contact violation to pull to within five oints at 22-17, but China scored the final three points to win the match.

For more information, visit the 2010 Sitting World Championship web site

U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team

Number Name (Hometown/Resident athletes at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. are noted)
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.)
7 Monique Burkland (Ardmore, Okla.)
9 Gina McWilliams (The Colony, Texas)
10 Kari Miller (Washington, D.C./Edmond, Okla.)
11 Allison Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.)
13 Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill./Edmond, Okla.)
14 Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
15 Kendra Lancaster (Westfield, Ind.)
18 Alex Gouldie (St. Paul, Neb.)

Head Coach: Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.)
Assistant Coach: Cara Lang
Team Leader: Jamie Aweau
Athletic Trainer: Brian Choate

U.S. Pool Play Schedule (All times CT) and Results
July 11: USA def. Germany, 25-10, 20-25, 25-14, 25-16
July 12 at 8 p.m.: USA vs. Japan
July 13 at 6 p.m.: USA vs. Kenya
July 14 at 6 p.m.: USA vs. Lithuania
July 15 at 1 p.m.: USA vs. Netherlands

2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships

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 Charlie Swearingon (Gulfport, Miss./Edmond, Okla.)
4 Ed O'Neil (Amherst, Mass./Edmond, Okla.)
5 Eric Duda (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Edmond, Okla.)
7 Brad Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.)
8 James Stuck (New Kensington, Pa./Edmond, Okla.)
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)
18 J. Dee Marinko (New Castle, Okla.)

Head Coach: Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania)
Assistant Coach: Dixie Collins (Marshall, Va.)

U.S. Men’s Pool Play Schedule (all times CT)

July 11: China def. USA, 25-10, 25-23, 25-17
July 12 at 6 p.m.: USA vs. Bosnia Herzegovina
July 13 at 8 p.m.: USA vs. Libya
July 14 at 3:30 p.m.: USA vs. Canada

Tags: Sitting Volleyball, Sitting Volleyball World Championships, U.S. Men's Sitting Volleyball Team, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team