U.S. Women's Sitting Team is 1-1 in Shanghai

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

This release is based on reports from U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Head Coach Bill Hamiter. For media inquiries regarding the U.S. Women’s Sitting Team, please contact B.J. Evans.

SHANGHAI, China (June 9, 2011) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball National Team defeated the Shanghai Women’s Sitting Team, 16-25, 17-25, 25-10, 25-11, 17-15 on Thursday at the Shanghai Disabled Persons’ Sport Center in Shanghai, China.

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team will play two more matches against the Shanghai club team on June 10 and 11.

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team passed at a 2.32 with Holloway passing a 2.75 and Miller a 2.47. The team hit for a .300 average. Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.) was the leading point scorer with 27 points off 23 kills, three blocks and one ace. Michelle Gerlosky (Lake Wales, Fla.) scored 20 points followed by Burkland (Plainview, Okla.) with 17.

U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Head Coach Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) started the first set with Holloway and Gerlosky at outside hitter, Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill.) at setter/right side, Alison Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.) and Burkland (Plainview, Okla.) at middle, and Kari Miller (Washington, D.C.) at libero.

The U.S. team fell behind 8-6 at the first technical timeout (TTO) and did not improve its play during the rest of the set; playing passively overall and not serving and receiving well.

In the second set, Angela DeHaan (Yuba City, Calif.) was inserted at outside hitter for Gerlosky. Gerlosky was moved to middle for Aldrich and Aldrich was moved to setter for Kanahele.

However the reformulated lineup didn't fare much better than the previous lineup. The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team fell behind early and never posted a lead in the set.

“There were moments of good play, but nowhere near the level the team should be performing at,” Hamiter said.

In the third set, Hamiter returned to his starting lineup. The Americans played with determination and newfound intensity from the outset, which lasted for the remainder of the match. The U.S. served aggressively, scoring on four aces, and passed well to side out at a 70 percent rate. The Chinese could not regain their momentum, which helped fuel a lopsided win.

The American starters held onto their momentum from the third set in winning the fourth and forcing a deciding set.

The fifth set was a brawl as neither team wanted to give in to defeat. Neither team established more than a two-point lead throughout the set as the lead switched back and forth. The U.S. women gained a late 14-13 lead, after being down 11-13, on strong serving from Gerlosky. The United States had had match point at 14-13, but a hitting error tied the set at 14-14. Following two sideouts from the Americans and one for the Chinese, the U.S. won the match on an errant swing from China.

"It was great to see our veterans step it up during the match and to see our younger players perform well for the come-from-behind victory,” Hamiter said. “We began very slowly tonight, so it was good to see the team turn it around and fight for a victory.

“I'm proud of the way our newer players performed. Angela DeHaan played in her first international match and Kaleo Kanahele played in her first international matches outside of the U.S. It was also Kaleo's first extensive use as a starting setter.

"We need a balanced offensive attack so I was pleased to see the point scoring ability from less experienced players like Michelle and Monique. Adding their point output to the output of veterans such as Katie, Allie and Nichole makes us a stronger team."

Match 2

SHANGHAI, China (June 10, 2011) – In the second match of the three-match series between the U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team and the Shanghai Women Sitting Team, the United States lost a close contest, 27-25, 25-23, 18-25, 26-24 on Friday.

The team passed a 2.08 and hit a .175 average. Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.) was the leading point scorer with 25 points off of 21 kills and four aces. Alison Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.) was the next highest point scorer with 14 points. The teams will play a final match on Saturday.

U.S. Head Coach Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) started the first set with Holloway and Michelle Gerlosky (Lake Wales, Fla.) at outside hitter, Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill.) at setter/right side, Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.) and Monique Burkland (Plainview, Okla.) at middle, and Kari Miller (Washington, D.C.) at libero.

The team played well enough to stay in the set but seemed to be a fraction behind the speed of the game. The set was a back-and-forth battle with the Shanghai women coming out on top. 

The second set was similar to the first with Shanghai winning another close set. The United States started Angela DeHaan (Yuba City, Calif.) and Holloway at outside, Gerlosky and Burkland at middle, and Millage and Aldrich at setter/right side.

The lineup for the third set was the same as the first. The Americans served better during the set, which helped them have three significant runs of points. These runs proved to be the difference, helping the U.S. win the third set. The match was beginning to look a lot like the previous day's match. 

The same lineup was used in set four as the third set. The U.S. was playing better, but the Chinese would not bow to the renewed energy of the Americans playing strong at the net and passing well. The seesaw battle was won by Shanghai, which also gave them the match.

"The team did not play consistently enough, doubling our hitting errors from our match yesterday and not meeting our standards of passing and serving. I was pleased that we fought well enough to stay in the match even when we weren't at our best," Hamiter said.

The loss is the first for the team in 2011. It hopes to bounce back on Saturday and follow up the loss with its second victory of the series. 

U.S. Women's Sitting Team Roster for Shanghai
Allison Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.)
Monique Burkland (Plainview, Okla.)
Angela DeHaan (Yuba City, California)
Michelle Gerlosky (Lake Wales, Fla.)
Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.)
Kari Miller (Washington, D.C.)
Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill.)

Staff
Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) – Head Coach
Cara Lang (Sartell, Minn.) – Asst. Coach & Stats
Jarrett Austin – Athletic Trainer
Elliot Blake – Coordinator Sitting Volleyball Teams

Tags: Allison Aldrich, Angela Dehaan, Bill Hamiter, Kaleo Kanahele, Kari Miller, Katie Holloway, Michelle Gerlosky, Nichole Millage, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team