U.S. Women’s Sitting Reigns Supreme, is Finals Bound

Becky Murdy September 30, 2011

Screen_shot_2011-09-30_at_6

Photo: Copyrighted by USAV

Kaleo Kanahele, the youngest player on the team at 15, charted 13 points for the U.S. Women's Sitting Team on Friday.

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 30, 2011) - The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team is headed to the Para Panamerican Zonal Championship final after defeating Colombia, 25-0, 25-0, 25-1 on Friday in the semifinals in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The U.S. Women advanced their undefeated record to 4-0 after outplaying Colombia for the second time in the tournament.

Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.), the youngest on the team at 15-years-old scored 13 points, tying for team-high with Kari Miller (Washington D.C.) and Monique Burkland (Ardmore, Okla.), who also contributed 13 points each. 

The Americans will compete in the final match on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET against the winner of the match between Brazil and Canada.

The tournament is a zonal championship to determine which team will represent the zone in London at the 2012 Paralympics. The U.S. previously qualified for the 2012 Paralympics, giving the winner of the semifinal match between Brazil and Canada a bid to the Paralympics. 

U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Roster for Para Panamerican Tournament
Name (Hometown)
Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash./UCO Resident Athlete)
Heather Erickson (Fayetteville, N.C./UCO Resident Athlete)
Angela DeHaan (Yuba City, Calif.) 
Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Nicole Nieves (Kissimmee, Fla.) 
Bethany Zummo (Dublin, Calif./UCO Resident Athlete) 
Monique Burkland (Ardmore, Okla./UCO Resident Athlete) 
Kari Miller (Washington, D.C.) 
Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill./UCO Resident Athlete)

Staff
Head Coach: Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.)
Therapist/Trainer: Kazuma Akehi

Tournament Schedule
Sept. 28, 5 p.m. ET: USA def. Canada 25-9, 25-20, 25-22
Sept 29, 11 a.m. ET: USA def. Colombia 25-0, 25-2, 25-3
Sept. 29, 8 p.m. ET: USA def. Brazil 25-17, 25-20, 25-15
Sept. 30: 6 p.m. ET: USA def. Colombia 25-0, 25-0, 25-1
Oct. 1: 3 p.m. ET: USA vs. Brazil or Canada

Tags: Angela Dehaan, Bethany Zummo, Bill Hamiter, Heather Erickson, Kaleo Kanahele, Kari Miller, Katie Holloway, mobile, Nicole Nieves, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team