Men's Sitting Team 5-1 Heading into Final Prelim Match

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 8, 2024) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting Team improved to 5-1 with one preliminary match to go at the 2024 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball Final Qualifier on Monday, sweeping Japan (25-15, 25-20, 25-14) in Dali, China.

The winner of the Final Qualifier will get the last berth available at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Eight teams will play each other in a round robin, and the two with the best records will play a championship match for the berth on April 10.

The U.S. Men are in second place behind Ukraine (5-1) and ahead of China (5-1). Ukraine has 15 points while the U.S. and China each have 14. The U.S. Men have a better set ratio (2.67) than China (2.14).

The U.S. Men play Croatia (3-3) at 8 p.m. PT on Monday (11 a.m. Tuesday in China). Matches are being livestreamed at live.hy960.com.

China will face Canada (3-3) and Ukraine will play Iraq (3-3).

“Tomorrow is a massive opportunity for us,” U.S. Head Coach Greg Walker said. “We need to be sharp. Croatia has two really good points scorers. We have to control our end of the ball.”

In Monday’s match, the U.S. Men played a familiar foe in Japan and got a quick victory.

“We definitely respected them. They are pretty scrappy,” Walker said. “They were just in the Tokyo Paralympics… We have scrimmaged them a lot in recent years and had the opportunity to train with them.”

The U.S. Men led Japan in kills (43-19), blocks (10-4) and aces (7-1).

Team newcomers Jason Roberts and Will Curtis made their international debuts in the match. Roberts started the third set at middle blocker and scored five points on three kills, one block and one ace. Curtis played as a substitute.

Outside hitter James Stuck led all scorers with 15 points on 11 kills, three blocks and one ace.

Outside hitter Zach Upp scored 14 points on a match-high five aces, seven kills and two blocks.

Opposite Eric Duda added 13 points on a match-high 12 kills and one block.

Middle blocker Roderick Green totaled seven points on six kills and one block.

Dan Regan started the second set at middle and scored four points on two kills and two blocks.

Middle Ben Aman and setter John Kremer each scored a point with a kill. Kremer set the U.S. to a .277 hitting efficiency. Libero Nicholas Dadgostar led the team in receptions with 13, 69 percent positive.

Libero Travis Ricks and Robbie Gaupp also played as substitutes.

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, Gateway)
3 Nicholas Dadgostar (L, 6-0, Sidney, Neb., Chesapeake)
4 Ben Aman (OH, 6-5, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma)
5 Eric Duda (S/OH, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Florida)
7 Robbie Gaupp (Opp/OH, Havre De Grace, Md., Chesapeake)
8 James Stuck (S/OH, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa., Keystone)
11C 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 (San Diego, Calif., Southern California)
23 William Curtis (Tampa, Fla., Florida)

Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Joe Skinner
Assistant Coach: Julie Allen
Team Leader: Jeffery Hicks
Performance Analyst: Sydnie Mabry
Athletic Trainer: Whitney Padgett
Sport Psychologist: Taylor Gabler

U.S. Schedule (All times PDT)
April 2: USA def Canada, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-19)
April 3: USA def Iraq, 3-1 (21-25, 18-25, 29-27, 20-25)
April 4: USA def Ukraine, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 15-13)
April 6: China def USA, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20)
April 6: USA def Poland, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17)
April 8: USA def Japan, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-14)
April 8: 8 p.m. USA vs Croatia