COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 6, 2024) –The U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team finished pool play with a win on Saturday and followed that with a semifinal victory to reach tomorrow’s Gold Medal Match at the Dutch Tournament in Assen, Netherlands. The men will face Germany, who edged the U.S. in its first preliminary round contest.
The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team dropped its semifinal match against Brazil but will still play for a medal on Sunday in the Bronze Medal Match against Italy. That match will be a preliminary round rematch of the U.S. comeback win after losing the first two sets.
U.S. Men (2-0 in Tournament; 0-1 in Friendly)
U.S. Men vs. France Match Statistics (PDF)
U.S. Men vs. Kazakhstan Match Statistics (PDF)
U.S. Men vs. Brazil Match Statistics (PDF)
The U.S. Men advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 preliminary round record after sweeping France. The U.S. led all statistical categories, 32-25 in kills, 7-4 in blocks and 15-8 in service aces. Ten players registered at least one ace.
Jason Roberts led the U.S. with nine kills (on a .467 hitting efficiency), two blocks and 13 total points. Ben Aman recorded a match-high four aces and added five kills for nine points.
Eric Duda tallied six points on four kills and two aces, while Patrick Young (four kills and an ace) and Chris Seilkop (three aces, one block, one kill) scored five points apiece.
The semifinal match against Kazakhstan was hard fought with the U.S. overcoming a strong block (16-9 deficit) with a 50-44 advantage in kills and 8-4 in aces.
After winning the first set, the U.S. Men trailed 23-16 in the second set before Duda served for eight consecutive points to give the U.S. set point. Kazakhstan fought off five set points (having one of its own) before a Duda kill of a strong pass by Fabrico Pinto and set from John Kremer made it 30-29 and Duda scored on another kill after a back-and-forth rally for the set win.
Zach Upp recorded match-highs of 26 points and five aces, leading the U.S. squad and sharing match-best honors with 19 kills. Duda finished with 17 kills, two blocks and an ace for 20 points. Roderick Green paced the team with three blocks, contributing four kills and a pair of aces for nine points. Pinto registered seven kills.
In the “friendly” (non-tournament) match, Duda, James Stuck and Pinto all rested against Pinto’s former team, Brazil. Roberts led the U.S. with five kills and seven points in the three-set defeat. Dan Reagan totaled four points on two kills, a block and an ace.
U.S. Women (0-1 in Tournament; 0-1 in Friendly)
U.S. Women vs. Brazil Match Statistics (PDF)
U.S. Women vs. Canada Match Statistics (PDF)
Brazil held slight advantages in the semifinal round, 49-41 in kills and 14-12 blocks. The U.S. continued its strong serving in the tournament with a 9-6 edge in aces.
Heather Erickson led all players with 16 kills and shared the match-high with 17 points. Nicky Nieves also reached double digits in kills (10) and points (14), adding three blocks and an ace. Tia Edwards led all players with four blocks and recorded six kills to score 10 points.
Whitney Dosty scored seven points on five kills, a block and an ace. Emma Schieck contributed two blocks and aces with one kill. Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (three aces and a block) and MaKenzie Franklin (two kills and two aces) each scored four points.
In the “friendly” (non-tournament) match against Gold Medal Match-bound Canada, the U.S. evened the match at a set apiece with a 26-24 win but could not hold off the strong Canadian attack and serving. Though the U.S. Women held an 18-15 edge in blocks, they trailed in kills (49-31) and aces (12-5).
Dosty and Franklin each scored a team-high 11 points with Dosty recording eight kills and three blocks; Franklin shared the team- and match-high with five blocks, adding five kills and an ace. Edwards also registered five blocks to go with three aces for eight points.
Nieves served three of her team’s five aces with five kills and a block for nine points. Schieck finished with eight points on seven kills and a block. After being the high scorer in the semifinal match, Erickson rested for the friendly contest.
U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Roster
No. Name (Position, Ht., Hometown, Region)
2 Bethany Zummo (L, 5-3, Dublin, Calif., Northern California)
3 Lexi Shifflett-Patterson (S/L, 5-4, Waseca, Minn., North Country)
6 Heather Erickson (OPP, 6-0, Fayetteville, N.C., Carolina)
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)
13 Gia Cruz (S, 5-5, San Antonio, Texas, Lone Star)
14 Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (S, 5-6, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oklahoma)
16 Nicky Nieves (MB/OH, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla., Florida)
17 Jessie West (OH, 5-8, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma)
18 Courtney Baker (OH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky., Pioneer)
22 MaKenzie Franklin (OH, 6-0, Red Wing, Minn., North Country)
Head Coach: Bill Hamiter
Assistant Coach: Leo Filho
Assistant Coach: Michelle Goodall
Athletic Trainer: Kat King
Performance Analyst: Jeffery Hicks
Performance Coach: Bobby Moore
U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Roster
No Name (Position, Height, Hometown, Region)
1 Travis Ricks (L, 5-7, San Diego, Calif., Southern California)
2 Dan Regan (OH, 6-0, St. Louis, Mo., Gateway)
4 Ben Aman (OH, 6-5, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma)
5 Eric Duda (S/OH, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Florida)
8 James Stuck (S/OH, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa., Keystone)
11 Roderick Green (MB, 6-3, West Monroe, La., Bayou)
12 Patrick Young (OH, 6-4, Albuquerque, N.M., Sun Country)
14 John Kremer (L, 5-9, Buford, Ga., Southern)
15 Chris Seilkop (OH, 6-6, Deland, Fla., Florida)
17 Zach Upp (OH, 6-5, Bartlett, Ill., Great Lakes)
20 Jason Roberts (OH/RS, 6-3, Perry, Ga., Southern)
23 Will Curtis (S/L, 6-0, Cumberland, Maine, New England)
24 Fabricio da Silva Pinto (OH/S, 6-1, Santos, Brazil)
49 Sam Surowiec (OH, 6-2, Everett, Wash., Evergreen)
Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Joe Skinner
Assistant Coach: Julie Allen
Performance Analyst: Sydnie Mabry
Athletic Trainer: Whitney Padgett
Team Leader: Tina Readling
U.S. Schedule for the Dutch Tournament
(All times PT)
Matches live streamed at youtube.com/@dutchtournament3998
July 5
U.S. Women def. Germany, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-13)
Germany def. U.S. Men, 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 15-25, 26-24)
U.S. Women def. Italy, 3-2 (21-25, 25-27, 25-18, 25-14, 15-6)
U.S. Men def. Italy, 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 25-11)
U.S. Women def. France, 3-0 (25-7, 25-10, 25-13)
July 6
U.S. Men def. France, 3-0 (25-10, 29-27, 25-19)
Semifinals, Brazil def. U.S. Women, 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18)
Semifinals, U.S. Men def. Kazakhstan, 3-1 (25-20, 31-29, 15-25, 25-21)
Friendly: Brazil def. U.S. Men, 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-13)
Friendly: Canada def. U.S. Women, 3-1 (25-13, 24-26, 25-21,
July 7
2 a.m. Bronze Medal Match, U.S. Women vs. Italy
7:30 a.m. Gold Medak Match, U.S. Men vs. Germany