Semi Sweet: Women's Sitting Team to Play for Gold in Paris

PARIS, France (Sept. 5, 2024) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team will play for its third straight Paralympic Games gold medal on Saturday after beating Brazil in Thursday’s semifinal 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-14, 25-15) at North Paris Arena.

The U.S. Women (3-1) will play China (4-0) for the gold medal at 10:30 a.m. PT on Saturday (Sept. 7). China defeated Canada 3-0 in the other semifinal. The finale will be a rematch of the last four Paralympic women’s sitting finals, with the U.S. winning in 2020 and 2016, and China winning in 2012 and 2008. China also won gold in 2004 when the U.S. won bronze.

After winning the first set, the U.S. Women struggled with errors and dropped the second set. They held off four set points at the end of set two and carried that momentum into the third and fourth sets.

“The stuff behind the scenes people don’t see,” head coach Bill Hamiter said. “The team’s gone through a lot since they’ve been here. To come together and keep playing, and play well enough to get into that championship match was good. The mental fortitude, the toughness, the resilience, we really started seeing it. In the first set, I said ‘just keep competing, we’re not playing great but just keep competing,” and we pulled it out. Second, [I said] ‘we just got to keep trying to gain some momentum.’ We made a couple of subs, and all of a sudden we were firing up; that’s what we needed, that’s the team.”

The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team led Brazil in kills (44-35) and blocks (16-11) and had an 11-10 edge in aces. The U.S. scored 26 points on Brazil’s errors and gave up 20.

U.S. outside hitter Katie Holloway Bridge led all scorers with 21 points on a match-high 15 kills, four blocks and two aces.

Opposite Heather Erickson added 18 points on 13 kills, four blocks and one ace. She led the team in digs with six and also had six successful receptions.

Middle blocker Tia Edwards scored 10 points on five kills, two blocks and three aces. Middle Lora Webster totaled nine points on four kills, four blocks and one ace.

Outside hitter Monique Matthews added seven points on four kills, two blocks and one ace.

Setter Kaleo Kanahele Maclay scored six points on three kills and three aces.

Libero Bethany Zummo led the team in successful receptions with seven and had three digs.

Outside hitters Emma Schieck and Whitney Dosty and setter Lexi Shifflett-Patterson played as substitutes.

The U.S. Sitting Team was trailing 9-7 in the first set when it used an 8-1 run to lead 15-10. Brazil pulled to within two at 20-18. The teams traded points and the U.S. pulled out the set win on a kill from Kanahele Maclay.

Brazil used improved serving and blocking and U.S. errors to lead 20-12 in the second set. The U.S. scored four straight points to pull to within four. Brazil reached set point at 24-18, but the U.S. scored four straight points on two kills from Holloway Bridge, an Edwards kill and a Brazilian error to stay close and build momentum for the third set.

The U.S. jumped to leads of 5-1 and 7-3 in the final two sets and held off any Brazil challenges.

“What went right was that we recovered from set two,” said Webster, who leads the tournament in blocks. “Set two was all errors on our side, and games like that happen. That’s what’s so fun about volleyball is that it’s such a momentum shift. You can be playing awesome in one set and the next one you come out and it’s like this dark cloud, and you just can’t figure it out.

“Weird things happen. We had funky stuff happen,” she continued. “So the fact that we bounced back from set two and played the way that we played in sets three and four just goes to show what kind of a team we are. We’ve really worked on our mental toughness, and we don’t let those mistakes eat away at us. It’s a mental game. Our mental stamina is what got us through that match.”

Paris Paralympics Hub | U.S. Women’s Sitting Team home

2024 U.S. Paralympic Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team

No., Name, Pos., Height, Hometown, USAV Region
1 Lora Webster (MB, 5-11, Point Lookout, N.Y., Garden Empire)
2 Bethany Zummo (L, 5-3, Dublin, Calif., Northern California)
3 Lexi Shifflett-Patterson (S/L, 5-4, Waseca, Minn., North Country)
5 Katie Holloway Bridge (OH, 6-3, Lake Stevens, Wash., Puget Sound)
6 Heather Erickson (OPP, 6-0, Fayetteville, N.C., Carolina)
7C Monique Matthews (MB/OH, 6-0, Ardmore, Okla., Oklahoma)
8 Whitney Dosty (OH/OPP, 6-3, Tucson, Ariz., Arizona)
9 Tia Edwards (OH/MB, 5-7, Skiatook, Okla., Oklahoma)
10 Sydney Satchell (L, 5-2, Windsor, Conn., New England)
12 Emma Schieck (OH, 5-7, Statesville, N.C., Carolina)
14 Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (S, 5-6, Oklahoma City, Okla., Oklahoma)
16 Nicky Nieves (MB/OH, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla., Florida)

Alternates
18 Courtney Baker (OH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky., Pioneer)
22 MaKenzie Franklin (OH, 6-0, Red Wing, Minn., North Country)
24 Raelene Elam (OH, 6-1, St. George, Utah, Northern California)

Head Coach: Bill Hamiter
Assistant Coaches: Leo Filho, Michelle Goodall
Team Leader: Patrick Lawrence
Athletic Trainer: Kat King
Performance Analyst: Jeffery Hicks
Team Psychologist: Adam O’Neil
Athletic Performance Coach: Bobby Moore
Dietitian: Jacque Scaramella

U.S. Women’s Schedule for the 2024 Paralympic Games

Aug. 30: China def. USA, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 26-24)
Sept. 1: USA def. France, 3-0 (25-5, 25-1, 25-5)
Sept. 3: USA def. Italy, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15)
Sept. 5: Semis, USA def Brazil, 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-14, 25-15)
Sept. 7: Gold Medal Match, USA vs. China, 10:30 a.m. PT (CNBC and Peacock)