U.S. Women's Sitting Finishes Undefeated in 2026 Worlds Pool Play

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 13, 2026) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team finished unbeaten in pool play at the 2026 World ParaVolley World Championship with a 3-0 (25-6, 25-8, 25-10) win over Germany on Monday in Hangzhou, China. The U.S. (3-0) advances to the round of 16, where they will face Kenya at 3 a.m. PT on July 14.

The U.S. recorded a 14-3 advantage in kills and 5-1 in service aces.

“It was good to win the pool. If we win tomorrow, we finish top 8 and qualify for LA28, which is one of our big goals. We served aggressively in good spots, and we ran our gam eplan just like we wanted. We served to people we wanted to, put up a big block, and we were hitting well against their block,” said U.S. head coach Bill Hamiter. “Everybody came in played well and did their job. Jillian (Williams-Coffee) had a great cutback swing out of the middle, Maddy (Ball) made a couple of great plays, Courtney (Baker) came in with a good serve and a really good dig. I was pleased with all of it. I was able to run a lineup that I might need later on in the tournament that other teams don’t know about it, so it was good to scoot it in there.”

Monique Matthews led all players with seven kills and Emma Schieck scored six points on four kills and was the only player with multiple aces with two.

Setter Kaleo Kanahele Maclay ran the effective U.S. offense and contributed a kill and an ace. Katie Bridge and Tia Edwards also recorded a kill and an ace. Williams-Coffee recorded the only block in the match.

U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Roster for World Championship

No  Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
2 Bethany Zummo (L, 5-3, Dublin, Calif.)
3 Alexis Patterson (S/L, 5-4, Waseca, Minn.)
4 Maddy Ball (DS, 5-7, Delray Beach, Fla.)
5 Katie Bridge (OH, 6-3, Lake Stevens, Wash.)
7 Monique Matthews (MB, 6-0, Ardmore, Okla.)
8 Whitney Dosty (OH/OPP, 6-3, Tucson, Ariz.)
9 Tia Edwards (OH/MB, 5-7, Skiatook, Okla.)
11 Jillian Williams-Coffee (MB/OH/OPP, 5-10, Odem, Texas)
12 Emma Schieck (OH, 5-7, Statesville, N.C.)
14 Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (S, 5-6, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
16 Nicky Nieves (MB/OH, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla.)
17 Jessie West (OH, 5-8, Edmond, Okla.)
18 Courtney Baker (MH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky.)
24 Raelene Elam (OH, 6-1, St. George, Utah, Northern California)

Head Coach: Bill Hamiter
Assistant Coach: Grace Campbell
Performance Analyst: Jeff Hicks
Athletic Trainer: Samantha Carter
Mental Performance Coach: Brooke Lamphere
Team Manager: Layne Smith

Schedule

All times Pacific
July 10: USA def. Netherlands, 3-1 (25-12, 25-15, 23-25, 25-21)
July 11: USA def. Germany, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-18)
July 13: USA def. Ukraine, 3-0 (25-6, 25-8, 25-10)
July 13: Round of 16: USA vs. Kenya, 3 a.m.
July 14: Quarterfinals and classification matches
July 15: Semifinals and knockout rounds
July 16: Bronze medal match and placement matches
July 17: Gold medal match