RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Sept. 13, 2016) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team will conclude its Paralympic journey on Friday after losing to Egypt 25-14, 25-9, 25-14 on Wednesday in the teams’ final match of pool play at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
With the win, Egypt (3-0) wins Pool A. The loss puts the U.S. at 0-3; the U.S. will play for seventh place against China or Ukraine at 12:30 a.m. ET on Friday. The match will be streamed live at bit.ly/WatchSitVB.
“Our energy, that spark we had after Germany needed to be there a little bit more,” Captain Eric Duda said after the loss.
Set 1 was closely contested until Egypt increased a 9-7 lead to 13-7 on a series of unforced errors by the U.S. and two service aces. The U.S. defense struggled to answer Egypt’s offense, which saw seven different attackers record at least two kills; Mohammed Abouelyazeid and Metawa Abouelkhir led with five kills each.
J. Dee Marinko(Guthrie, Oklahoma) led the U.S. with six points, all from kills. Duda added four points off three kills and one block.
U.S. Head Coach Greg Walker looked to his bench to help provide a spark, heavily substituting players in and out in the second and third sets. The fresh energy helped as the match wore on and the U.S. defense made better reads of Egypt’s attacks. However the Egyptians were relentless and continued to fight even as the U.S. made dig after dig. Jese Schag (Norway, Illinois) and John Kremer (Buford, Georgia) led the defense with four and three digs, respectively.
“The guys coming off the bench have really waiting for an opportunity to get into competition and work on some of the things we’ve focused on,” Walker said. “I thought they did a great job. It was good because we don’t get that experience anywhere else. For them to have that experience is great.”
Sitting at 0-2, China seems a likely candidate to play the U.S. on Friday. But the Americans will have to wait for the conclusion of pool play on Tuesday to learn their final opponent.
U.S. Starters vs. Egypt
Middle blockers: Roderick Green, James Stuck
Outside hitters: Eric Duda, J. Dee Marinko
Opposite: Chris Seilkop
Setter: Jese Schag
Libero: John Kremer
U.S. Statistics vs. Egypt
Kills: J. Dee Marinko 6, Eric Duda 3, Josh Smith 3, Roderick Green 3, Chris Seilkop 2, Dan Regan 2, Jese Schag 1, James Stuck 1
Blocks: Smith 2, Stuck 1, Charlie Swearingen 1, Duda 1
Aces: Schag 1
Digs: Schag 4, John Kremer 3, Duda 2, Stuck 2, Ben Aman 2, Swearingen 2, Marinko 1, Edgar Laforest 1, Regan 1, Smith 1, Green 1
Assists: Schag 8, Duda 4, Smith 3, Marinko 2, Stuck 1, Laforest 1, Seilkop 1, Kremer 1
U.S. Paralympic Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team Roster
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
2. Dan Regan (Middle Blocker, 6-0, St. Louis, Missouri)
4. Ben Aman (Outside Hitter, 6-5, Tacoma, Washington)
5. Eric Duda (Outside Hitter, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
6. Jese Schag (Setter, 6-2, Norway, Illinois)
8. James Stuck (Setter, 6-5, New Kensington, Pennsylvania)
10. Edgar LaForest (Outside Hitter, 6-2, San Juan, Puerto Rico)
11. Roderick Green (Middle Blocker, 6-3, West Monroe, Louisiana)
13. Charlie Swearingen (Outside Hitter, 6-3, Gulfport, Mississippi)
14. John Kremer (Libero, 5-9, Buford, Georgia)
15. Chris Seilkop (Outside Hitter/Middle Blocker, 6-6 DeLand, Florida)
16. Josh Smith (6-2 Opposite, Riverside, California)
18. J. Dee Marinko (Outside Hitter, 6-4, Guthrie, Oklahoma)
Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Joe Skinner
Team Leader: Dixie Collins
Athletic Trainer: Katherine King
2016 Paralympic Games Men’s Sitting Volleyball Pools
Pool A: Brazil, Egypt, Germany, United States
Pool B: Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, China
2016 Paralympic Games Men’s Sitting Volleyball Pool Schedules
All times EDT
Sept. 9
Brazil def. USA, 25-14, 25-17, 25-14
Egypt def. Germany, 18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14, 15-7
Sept. 10
Iran def. China, 25-22, 25-13, 25-14
Bosnia-Herzegovina def. Ukraine, 25-12, 25-22, 25-20
Sept. 11
Egypt def. Brazil, 25-18, 13-25, 25-23, 10-25, 15-7
Germany def. USA, 20-25, 25-15, 25-10, 23-25, 15-10
Sept. 12
Ukraine def. China, 26-28, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 16-14
Iran def. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 25-17, 25-22, 25-17
Sept. 13
Egypt def. USA, 25-14, 25-9, 25-14
Germany vs. Brazil, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. China, 5:30 p.m.
Ukraine vs. Iran, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 16
Men’s 7th-8th Classification, 12:30 p.m.
Men’s 5th-6th Classification, 2:30 p.m.
Semifinal 1: 5:30 p.m.
Semifinal 2: 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18
Men’s bronze medal match, 8:30 a.m.
Men’s gold medal match, 11 a.m.