Men's Sitting Team Falls to China in 1st Qualifier Loss

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 6, 2024) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting Team suffered its first loss of the 2024 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball Final Qualifier on Saturday, falling to host China, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20) in Dali.

Only a few hours after playing the tournament’s last match of the day, the U.S. Men (3-1) will have to bounce back and play the day’s first match against Poland (0-4)  at 6 p.m. on Saturday PT. Matches are being livestreamed at live.hy960.com.

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. block was strong, leading China 13-6. Middle blocker and Team Captain Roderick Green led the way with seven. But China’s attack proved to be more powerful. China’s hitting efficiency was .413 while the U.S. Men hit .295.

“It was a pretty good point-for-point match,” Green said. “We still have a good road to get to the finals and win. It’s all on us.”

The U.S. was credited with 79 receptions, 58 percent positive while China had 74 receptions, 73 percent positive. U.S. libero Nick Dadgostar was credited with 13 receptions, 54 percent positive. Opposite Eric Duda led in receptions with 27, 56 percent positive.

The teams were close in serving. China had five aces and 10 errors while the U.S. had four aces and 11 errors.

U.S. opposite Eric Duda led all scorers with 23 points on 21 kills, one block and one ace. Outside hitter Zach Upp added 19 points on 15 kills, three blocks and one ace.

Green finished with nine points with his seven blocks and two kills. Outside hitter James Stuck totaled seven points on four kills, one block and two aces.

Setter John Kremer scored two points on a kill and a block.

Middle Chris Seilkop scored one point with a kill before leaving the match with an injury in the third set. Ben Aman took over and scored one point with a kill.

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: 6 p.m. USA vs Poland
April 8: 1 a.m. USA vs Japan
April 8: 8 p.m. USA vs Croatia