U.S. Men's Sitting Team Places 8th in England

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

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 16, 2011) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team finished the 2011 Continental Cup in eight place after falling to host Great Britain on Saturday, 25-22, 25-16, 7-25, 25-19, in Kettering, England.

The U.S. Men finished the tournament with a record of 3-4. Great Britain finished in seventh place at 3-5.

The teams were tied in kills, 27-27. But Great Britain led in blocks, 14-11 and in aces 10-4.

Dan Regan (St. Louis, Mo./Edmond, Okla.), Eric Duda (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Edmond, Okla.), and James Stuck (New Kensington, Pa./Edmond, Okla.) each scored nine points for the United States. Regan recorded five kills and four blocks. Duda scored on seven kills and two aces. Stuck recorded seven kills and two blocks.

“Like yesterday, we were playing today with new lineups trying to find the one that would work best for our situation,” U.S. Head Coach Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania/Edmond, Okla.) said. “We just made too many mistakes early on and Great Britain did a nice job of limiting their own.”

Among other U.S. scorers, Roderick Green (West Monroe, La./Edmond, Okla.) had seven points on three kills, two blocks and two aces. J.Dee Marinko (Newcastle, Okla.) added five points on four attacks and one block. Hugo Storer (San Juan, Puerto Rico) scored on one kill and one block and Charlie Swearingen (Gulfport, Miss./Edmond, Okla.) had one point with a block.

In the first set, the United States held leads at both technical timeouts of 8-5 and 16-13. However unforced errors began to creep in and Great Britain was able to pull ahead and take the first set.

The second set saw a continued increase in unforced errors by the United States, and Great Britain built up a lead of 21-9 late in the set. The U.S. put on a nice run to finish the set and carried that momentum into the third.

With the team refocused, the U.S. kept constant pressure on the Brits and forced them into making their own errors, including 12 hitting errors for a -.300 efficiency.

The fourth set would begin with the United States again in control of the game, building a 6-2 lead. Yet Great Britain worked its way back into the set and took the lead at 11-10. The two teams traded small runs of points with Great Britain always maintaining the lead. The Brits pulled away as the Americans’ unforced errors ended their hope for a fifth set.

The U.S. team will return home for a short rest before its next training camp in August as it continues to prepare for November’s Parapan American Games. The winner of the Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, will qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Games.

2011 Men’s Sitting Volleyball Continental Cup
Kettering, England

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.)
8 James Stuck (New Kensington, Pa./Edmond, Okla.)
9 Hugo Storer (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
11 Roderick Green (West Monroe, La./Edmond, Okla.)
18 J. Dee Marinko (Newcastle, Okla.)

Head Coach: Edgar Miraku (Elbasan, Albania/Edmond, Okla.)
Assistant Coach/Team Leader: Dixie Collins (Marshall, Va.)
Statistician: Elliott Blake
Athletic Trainer: Brian Choate

Pool B
Russia  4-0
USA 3-1
Egypt 2-2
China 1-3
Azerbaijan 0-4

Pool A
Bosnia & Herzegovina 5-0
Ukraine 4-1
Brazil 3-2
Great Britain 2-3
Kazakhstan 1-4
Canada 0-5

Competition Results and Schedule (All times local)

Pool B

July 11
USA def. China, 15-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20
Azerbaijan def. Russia, 25-10, 25-5, 25-7

July 12
Egypt def. Azerbaijan, 25-8, 25-17, 25-11
Russia def. China, 25-14, 25-11, 25-15)
USA def. Azerbaijan, 25-14, 25-11, 25-15
Russia def. Egypt, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21

July 13
Russia def. USA, 25-14, 25-17, 25-18
Egypt def. China, 22-25, 18-25, 19-25
China def. Azerbaijan, 25-14, 25-19, 25-13
USA def. Egypt, 25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 25-15

Pool A

July 11
Brazil def. Great Britain, 25-15, 27-25, 25-17
Ukraine def. Canada, 25-9, 25-7, 25-16
Bosnia & Herzegovina def. Kazakhstan, 25-11, 25-8, 25-11

July 12
Ukraine def. Great Britain, 25-9, 25-13, 25-10
Kazakhstan def. Canada, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 30-28
Bosnia & Herzegovina def. Brazil, 25-11, 25-15, 25-22
Great Britain def. Kazakhstan, 25-22, 16-25, 25-20, 25-21
Bosnia & Herzegovina def. Canada, 25-17, 25-9, 25-13
Ukraine def. Brazil, 24-26, 25-14, 25-9, 25-20

July 13
Bosnia & Herzegovina def. Great Britain, 25-9, 25-6, 25-16
Ukraine def. Kazakhstan, 25-11, 25-18, 25-15
Brazil def. Canada, 25-13, 25-11, 25-10
Bosnia & Herzegovina def. Ukraine, 24-26, 25-7, 25-16, 22-25, 15-10
Brazil def. Kazakhstan, 25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 25-15
Great Britain def. Canada, 25-15, 25-16, 28-26

Final Rounds

July 14
Classification 9-11: Canada def. Azerbaijan, 25-17, 25-18, 25-12
Quarterfinal: Egypt def. Ukraine, 18-25, 21-25, 29-27 - 29
Quarterfinal: Brazil def. USA, 25-16, 25-21, 25-12
Quarterfinal: Bosnia & Herzegovina def. China, 25-18, 25-14, 25-20
Quarterfinal: Russia def. Great Britain, 25-14, 25-17, 25-11

July 15
Classification 9-11: Kazakhstan def. Canada, 25-16, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 15-5
Semifinal 5-8: Ukraine def. Great Britain, 25-20, 25-17, 25-20
Semifinal 5-8: China def. USA, 22-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-14
Semifinal 1-4: Egypt def. Russia, 19-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-20, 15-12
Semifinal 1-4: Bosnia & Herzegovina def. Brazil, 25-22, 25-11, 25-23

July 16
7th Place: Great Britain def. USA, 25-23, 25-16, 7-25, 25-19
Classification 9-11: Kazakhstan def. Azerbaijan, 25-14, 25-8, 25-27, 25-16
5th Place: Ukraine def. China, 25-17, 25-22, 25-20
1 p.m.: 3rd Place, Russia vs. Brazil
3 p.m.: Championship, Egypt vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina

Tags: Charlie Swearingen, Dan Regan, Ed O'Neil, Edgar Miraku, Eric Duda, Hugo Storer, J. Dee Marinko, James Stuck, Roderick Green, U.S. Men's Sitting Volleyball Team