U.S. Sitting Teams Have Undefeated Day

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

EDMOND, Okla. (July 13, 2010) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team won its first match of the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships while the U.S. Women picked up two more victories on Tuesday at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The Men’s Sitting Team took its first World Championship victory over Libya, 25-19, 25-14, 25-21. The U.S. Men improved their record to 1-2, Libya fell to 0-4. The U.S. faces a must-win situation against Canada on Wednesday (3:30 p.m. CT on Court 2) if it hopes to finish in the top three and advance to the medal bracket out of pool.

Live video streaming of the matches is available at http://administration.uco.edu/ucowc/worlds/streaming.php.

In a morning match, the U.S. Women’s Sitting Team swept Libya, 25-21, 25-8, 25-12. In the afternoon, it did the same to Canada, 25-16, 25-7, 25-14.

The U.S. Women improved their record to 4-0 and are assured of advancing to the medal bracket. However, to advance as the pool winners, they will need to defeat Netherlands (4-0) at 8 p.m. CT on Court 1.

Although the Netherlands’ women’s sitting team is ranked higher than the U.S., the U.S. has defeated Netherlands in their last three meetings at the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008, at the Eurocup in 2009 and at the WOVD Sitting Volleyball World Cup in 2010.

For the U.S. Men, it was not only a relief to win, but also to play they know they can.

“It feels really excellent,” said Edgar Laforest (San Juan, Puerto Rico), who scored five points for the U.S. “We stayed in system and made good high passes off the net.”

Brent Rasmussen (Omaha, Neb.) led the United States with 12 points on nine kills, two blocks and one ace. James Stuck (New Kensington, Pa.) added 11 points on eight kills, one block and two aces. Eric Duda (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) totaled 11 points on seven kills, two blocks and two aces.

The U.S. Men had 39 kills to Libya’s 17. Team USA finished with a 9-1 lead in aces and a 9-2 advantage in blocks.

Every player on the U.S. Men’s Team got into the match.

“That’s the challenge,” U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Head Coach Edgar Miraku said. “We want everyone to get international playing experience, but you also want to make sure you win the match.”

The many player changes did allow Libya to get runs of points it might not have gotten otherwise, including five points that held the U.S. off from winning the match. Team USA reached match point at 24-16, but finally won the set on a James Stuck (New Kensington, Pa.) kill at 25-21.

On the women’s side, substitutes ended up getting plenty of playing time as well. Michelle Gerlosky (Griffin, Ga.) took full advantage, finishing the first match with at least two aces and the second with seven. She was the United States’ leading scorer in the second match with nine points total.

Overall, the U.S. finished with 31 aces while Canada had 12.

“We’ve played Canada a lot so we were pretty relaxed,” Gerlosky said. “Coach used a bunch of us substitutes to help us gain confidence.”

Other substitutes who saw significant playing time in the matches included Gina McWilliams (The Colony, Texas), Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Monique Burkland (Ardmore, Okla.).

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

Click here for complete standings.

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 (Sartell, Minn.)
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: USA def. Japan, 25-10, 25-14, 25-9
July 13: USA def. Lithuania, 25-21, 25-8, 25-12
July 13: USA def. Canada, 25-16, 25-7, 25-14
July 14 at 8 p.m.: USA vs. Netherlands

Women’s Group B Pool Standings
USA 4-0
Netherlands 4-0
Germany 2-2
Lithuania 2-2
Japan 0-4
Canada 0-4

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 Swearingen (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.)
Team Leader:  Kimo Aweau
Athletic Trainer: Akehi Kazuma

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

July 11: China def. USA, 25-10, 25-23, 25-17
July 12: Bosnia Herzegovina def. USA, 25-15, 25-15, 25-10
July 13: USA def. Libya, 25-19, 25-14, 25-21
July 14 at 3:30 p.m.: USA vs. Canada

Men’s Group A Pool Standings
Bosnia 3-0
China 3-0
USA 1-2
Canada 1-2
Libya 0-4

Tags: Alexandra Gouldie, Allison Aldrich, Bill Hamiter, Brad Johnson, Brenda Maymon, Brent Rasmussen, Charlie Swearingen, Dan Regan, Ed O'Neil, Edgar Miraku, Edgardo Laforest, Eric Duda, Gina McWilliams, Heather Erickson, James Stuck, Josh Franklin, Kaleo Kanahele, Kari Miller, Katie Holloway, Kendra Lancaster, Michelle Gerlosky, Nichole Millage, Roderick Green, Sitting Volleyball, Sitting Volleyball World Championships, U.S. Men's Sitting Volleyball Team, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team