U.S. Women's Sitting Team Advances to Semis

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

EDMOND, Okla. (July 16, 2010) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team took another step toward its goal of qualifying for the 2012 Parlaympic Games in London with its 25-13, 25-19, 25-19 sweep of Russia on Friday at the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO).

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team (6-0) will play Netherlands for the second time of the tournament in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Saturday on Court 1 in UCO’s Hamilton Field House. Live video streaming of all matches is available at the 2010 World Championships web site.

The U.S. Women defeated Netherlands 25-16, 25-11, 25-12 in their final pool play match on Wednesday.

The Russian team pressured Team USA like no team has since Germany won a set in the United States’ first pool play match. The U.S. responded at times by being a little over-aggressive, serving and hitting far out of bounds.

“You could tell they wanted it so badly,” U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Head Coach Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) said of his team. “Russia did a really good job at the net. They blocked well and hit some smart shots. They forced us to have to play.”

Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.) paced the U.S. Women with 16 points on six kills, three blocks and seven aces. Kendra Lancaster (Westfield, Ind.) added nine points on six kills, one block and two aces. Allison Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.) totaled seven points on two kills and five aces.

“They never scared us,” Lancaster said of Russia. “We ran into a couple snags and made some unforced errors. But we overcame that. The referees were calling a tight match, so you have to make sure your butt is on the floor and your sets are tight.”

The U.S. Team led Russia in kills 71-58, in aces, 15-1 and in blocks, 7-6. The United States’ attack percentage was 0.35 as compared to 0.22 for Russia and its reception percentage was 0.50 while Russia’s was 0.13.

Hamiter started Brenda Maymon (Sellersburg, Ind.), Holloway, Heather Erickson (Fayetteville, N.C.), Aldrich, Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill.), Lancaster and Kari Miller (Washington, D.C.) at libero. Michelle Gerlosky (Lake Wales, Fla.) played as a substitute.

The U.S. Women took an 8-1 lead at the first technical timeout (TTO) of the first set as Aldrich served for five straight points, including an ace, and Holloway added two blocks. The U.S. continued to lead 16-7 at the second TTO. With the United States leading 19-13, Holloway scored with a kill and Aldrich got the serve, opening with another ace. She had two more aces in a six-point run that also included an attack by Holloway and a kill and block from Lancaster that ended the match.

The U.S. trailed 3-0 in the second set when Russia served out of bounds and Aldrich took the serve. The U.S. scored the next six points, including two aces by Aldrich and kills from Holloway and Lancaster. The U.S. led 8-4 at the first TTO and Maymon added to the lead with an ace on the first serve after the break. Team USA scored two more points on another Maymon ace and a Holloway block to increase the lead to 11-4. The U.S. Women seemed to have things well in hand after Millage served for three points, including an ace, to give her team an 18-7 lead. But the U.S. lost the serve on a lifting call and Russia used a 9-2 scoring run to pull to within four points at 20-16. Holloway responded with a vicious kill, followed by another from Millage and a Russian error to keep the U.S. well ahead at 23-16. Team USA was called for a double contact and Russia scored three straight points to pull to within four at 23-19. But the run ended with a serving error that brought the U.S. to set point and Holloway ended the matter with an ace.

Russia held a 4-3 lead in the third set when Lancaster essentially set herself, getting the ball in the air on a soft block and then hitting it for a kill. Holloway took the serve and the U.S. scored seven straight points, including two Holloway aces, three more kills by Lancaster and a block by Erickson. Later, with the U.S. leading 12-6, Russia made a run of three points and pulled the score to 12-9. Russia was called for a double contact, but then scored the next four straight points on U.S. errors to tie the score at 13-13. With the score still tied at 17-17, Team USA got a run of four points behind the serving of Holloway, who had an ace, along with three Russian errors. The U.S. reached match point at 24-19 in Erickson’s attack and another Erickson kill ended the match.

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

Visit 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championship Photo Galleries.

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 (Lake Wales, Fla./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. Second Phase Results
Quarterfinals - July 16: USA def. Russia, 25-13, 25-19, 25-19

U.S. Pool Play 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: USA def. Netherlands, 25-16, 25-11, 25-12

Women’s Group B Pool Standings
USA 5-0
Netherlands 4-1
Germany 3-2
Lithuania 2-3
Japan 1-4
Canada 0-5

Tags: Alexandra Gouldie, Allison Aldrich, Bill Hamiter, Brenda Maymon, Gina McWilliams, Heather Erickson, Kaleo Kanahele, Kari Miller, Katie Holloway, Kendra Lancaster, Michelle Gerlosky, Nichole Millage, Sitting Volleyball, Sitting Volleyball World Championships, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team