U.S. Women's Sitting Clinches Paralympic Bid, Reaches Quarterfinals at 2026 Worlds

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 14, 2026) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team reached the quarterfinal round of the 2026 World ParaVolley World Championship in Hangzhou, China, with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-15) victory over Kenya on Tuesday. With the victory, the U.S. clinched a spot in the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

“It is always a little less stress to make sure (getting to the Paralympics) is done. We thought we could do it so it was good to see us follow through and get it done. Now it’s time we can look at other things and develop or whatever we need to do to get ready so we can perform better there and keepgoing for that next gold,” said U.S. head coach Bill Hamiter.

The U.S. (4-0) will face Italy at 1 a.m. PT in the quarterfinals.

The U.S. dominated in kills with a 36-21 advantage and served 11 aces compared to five. Kenya finished with an 8-4 lead in blocks.

“It was a good team effort. The lineup I put in the first set, some of them had a lot of nerves playing in a match like that and a match that meant so much to us because a win meant a ticket to LA. They felt a lot of pressure, but they fought through it,” Hamiter said.

Playing the first two sets, Monique Matthews led all players with eight kills and 12 points, and shared match-high honors with four blocks. Whitney Dosty (eight kills and two blocks) and Jillian Williams-Coffee (six kills and four aces) reached double digits with 10 points each.

Nicky Nieves posted six kills playing in just the third set. Alexis Patterson scored five points on three kills, a block and an ace, with Courtney Baker adding four points on two kills, a block and an ace. Jessie West registered three kills and Raelene Elam served an ace in the third set.

A Dosty block and Matthews kill began the match, but Kenya scored six of the next seven points for a 6-3 lead. A block extended the lead to four points, 8-4. Trailing 9-7, the U.S. went on a 6-0 run with Williams-Coffee serving for five points. Edwards recorded a block and then scored after a great dig by Matthews on back-to-back plays. Matthews scored on consecutive plays for a 17-12 U.S. lead. A Williams-Coffee kill and Matthews ace put the U.S. up 22-17 before a three-point Kenya run cut the deficit to two points. Williams-Coffee served an ace to give the U.S. set point, which it converted on the next play.

A Matthews kill staked the U.S. to a 5-2 lead in the second set. A Williams-Coffee kill and Matthews ace extended the margin to four points, 9-5. A Baker kill gave the U.S. a 13-9 lead before Kenya scored the next two points to cut the deficit to two points. The U.S. went on a 9-1 run to take control of the set with Matthews scoring three points in the stretch, including the final two, one on an overpass and another on a cross-court shot. Kenya was unable to get any closer than seven points the remainder of the set.

With the score 4-4 in the third set, the U.S. took advantage of numerous Kenya mistakes in an 8-1 run capped by a Baker kill for a 12-5 lead. A kill and block by Dosty gave the U.S. a 16-9 lead. Nieves delivered kills on back-to-back plays and Williams-Coffee tooled the block as the U.S. doubled up the score, 20-10. Dosty put a ball over the net that fell on the Kenya side for a 21-13 lead. A Williams-Coffee ace and Nieves kill gave the U.S. match point at 24-13. Kenya saved two match points before another Nieves kill sent the U.S. into the quarterfinals.

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 def. Kenya, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-15)
July 14: Quarterfinals: USA vs. Italy, 1 a.m.
July 15: Semifinals and knockout rounds
July 16: Bronze medal match and placement matches
July 17: Gold medal match