U.S. Men's Sitting Loses Five-Set Heartbreaker at 2025 World Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 15, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team’s win streak ended Wednesday night as the team fell in five sets to World No. 7 Kazakhstan, 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 15-12) at the 2025 World ParaVolley World Cup in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The U.S. (4-1) will face France (1-3) Thursday night at 5 p.m. PT. France’s only win is a 3-2 victory over Italy, a team the U.S. swept earlier this week. All matches are streamed live on the Turnstone YouTube channel.

Kazakhstan continued its powerful showing in the tournament with its fifth win; the U.S. (ranked just behind Kazakhstan at No. 8 in the world) is the first team to take a set from the team in the tourney, almost pulling off the reverse sweep.

“We love playing Kazakhstan. They’ve been such great international partners,” said U.S. head coach Greg Walker. “They are in the same [place] as we are as a program; they’ve made their way out of a really tough zone for Paralympic qualification. Even when we couldn’t leave the country, they were coming to us multiple times a year to help us train. They train a lot with the top three countries, and they bring that to us. It’s been a true gift, so playing them anytime, it’s a privilege.”

The teams were nearly even in kills, with Kazakhstan holding a 57-55 advantage. The U.S. had the ace advantage (14-12), but Kazakhstan had 12 blocks to seven from the U.S.

Zach Upp was magnificent in the match, leading the U.S. with 31 points on 24 kills, a match-high six aces, and one block. James Stuck scored 13 points (nine kills, a team-high three blocks and one ace); Jason Roberts scored 11 (nine kills, one block, one ace); and Eric Duda had 11 points (10 kills, one ace).

Ben Aman scored six points on two kills and four aces, and setter John Kremer had a block, a kill and an ace. Will Curtis came in for an ace, and Alex Wilson had a block.

Set One
In the first set, Kazakhstan build an early lead that was consistently five points until the Americans cut it to two, 11-9, on an Upp attack. Kazakhstan scored five straight to make it a 16-9 ball game and then led 19-10 late. Down and seemingly out at 20-11, the U.S. made a move. A kill from Duda, a Kazakhstan error and two straight Aman aces made it 20-15 and forced a timeout.

A Kazakhstan kill gave them set point at 24-17, but a service error brought the ball back-right into the hands of U.S. serving star Upp. An ace, a block by Alex Wilson, three more aces, a Stuck kill and then one more ace tied it at 24. The U.S. held off one set point at 25-24, but a U.S. service error and Kazakhstan kill ended it.

Set Two
Kazakhstan quickly had an 8-4 lead, forcing the U.S. to play catch-up, which they did, grabbing a 12-10 lead on a five-point run. The U.S. had a 19-18 lead, but Kazakhstan scored three straight. Kazakhstan picked up a couple of key kills late in the set to win.

Set Three
Kazakhstan had a 6-1 lead in the third, but the U.S. never let that lead get any larger. The U.S. tied it at 9-9, and then took the lead on an Upp kill at 11-10. The teams traded leads, but Kazakhstan went ahead 20-18 on a kill. Kills by Roberts and Upp evened it at 20. Errors plagued Kazakhstan, leading to set point for the U.S. at 24-21. After a kill from Kazakhstan, Upp finished the set 25-22 with a kill.

“Seeing our guys being able to dig deep in big moments tonight was great, and that’s what we’ve been working toward,” Walker said. “Our bench has tremendously impacted our training at home and constantly elevated it. It didn’t always used to be that way, and it’s made a significant difference on how we compete.”

Set Four
The U.S. took its first lead in set four at 5-4 and continued to build on it, leading 21-16 late in the set. An Upp kill made it 22-16, and the U.S. closed the set 24-17 after an opponent error.

Set Five
Kazakhstan opened up a quick 3-0 lead in the fifth with two aces and a kill, forcing a U.S. timeout. After the U.S. scored one, another 3-0 run from Kazakhstan led to a second timeout at 6-1. The U.S. kept up the pressure, closing the gap to 8-4 and 9-5. Despite being down by six at 13-7, the U.S. never gave up, scoring three straight to make it 13-10. At 14-10, a block from Stuck and Upp, plus a Kazakhstan error, made it 14-12, but a Kazakhstan kill gave them the win.

Roster

No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
2 Dan Regan (OH, 6-0, St. Louis, Mo.)
3 Nick Dadgostar (L, 6-0, Sidney, Neb.)
4 Ben Aman (OH, 6-5, Edmond, Okla.)
5 Eric Duda (OH, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
6 Alex Wilson (OPP/OH, 6-6, Saugerties, N.Y.)
7 Robbie Gaupp (OH, 6-4, Gatesville, Texas)
8 James Stuck (S/OH, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa.)
10 Robbie Onusko(OH, 6-0, Daytona Beach, Fla.)
14 John Kremer (S, 5-9, Buford, Ga.)
17 Zach Upp (OH, 6-5, Bartlett, Ill.)
20 Jason Roberts (OH, 6-3, Moncks Corner, S.C.)
22 Brett Parks(OH, 6-0, Miami, Fla.)
23 Will Curtis (S/L, 6-0, Cumberland, Maine)
49 Sam Surowiec (OH, 6-2, Everett, Wash.)

Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Julie Allen
Assistant Coach: Jeffrey Smith
Strength Coach: Bobby Moore
Physical Therapist: Whitney Padgett
Team Manager: Brian Farr
Tech Coordinator: Drew Graystone
Sport Psychologist: Taylor Gabler

Schedule

All times Pacific
Oct. 12: USA def. Thailand, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-22)
Oct. 13: USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16)
Oct. 13: USA def. Italy, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17)
Oct. 14: USA def. Poland, 3-1 (25-19 22-25, 25-21, 25-20)
Oct. 15: Kazakhstan def. USA, Kazakhstan, 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 15-12)
Oct. 16: USA vs. France, 5 p.m.
Oct. 17: Playoff rounds
Oct. 18: Medal Matches