Men's Sitting Team Turns to Bench to Beat Argentina

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 11, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting Team went with a new starting lineup on Thursday and came away with a 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 25-15) win over Argentina at the ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

All four teams competing at the championship will move on to Friday’s semifinal. The winning team will qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The U.S. will play Canada in the semifinal at 6 p.m. PT.

U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Head Coach Greg Walker went with a new starting lineup from the team’s first two matches: Dan Regan, Ben Aman, Dandy Wilson, Robbie Gaupp, Sam Surowiec and Travis Ricks.

MATCH STATISTICS

“I love the depth we have,” Walker said. “That is something we have been working on. In a tournament like this, we want to have a deep bench that we can turn to in matches like this.”

The U.S. led Argentina in kills (46-32) and aces (13-5). Argentina led in blocks 10-9.

“I thought it was good for our team to experience what happens when we lose our momentum a little bit,” Walker said. “I thought they did a great job in the last two sets being able to close the match out.”

Aman led the U.S. scoring with 17 points on 12 kills, two blocks and three aces. Patrick Young added 16 points on a match-high five aces, nine kills and two blocks.

Dan Regan totaled 12 points on six kills, a match-high three blocks and three aces.

Dandy Wilson and Robbie Gaupp each scored nine points. Sam Surowiec had three points and John Kremer, who played as a substitute, scored one point. Libero Travis Ricks was credited with 15 receptions, 47 percent positive.

Watch all matches, including the May 12 semifinal matchup with Canada at 6 p.m. PT, live on YouTube.

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)
8 James Stuck (S/OH, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa., Keystone)
9 Dandy Wilson  (Opp/OH, Alexandria, Va., Old Dominion)
11 Roderick Green (MB, 6-3, West Monroe, La., Bayou)
12 Patrick Young (OH, 6-4, Albuquerque, N.M., Sun Country)
13 Robbie Gaupp (Opp/OH, Havre De Grace, Md., Chesapeake)
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)
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: Brian Farr
Team Leader: Kyle Homeyer

Men’s Schedule (All time CT)
May 9: Brazil def. USA 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 19-25, 23-25)
May 10: USA def. Canada, 3-1 (28-26, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23)
May 11: USA vs Argentina, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 25-15)
May 12 at 3 p.m. Semifinal 1
May 12 at 8 p.m. Semifinal 2
May 13 at noon Bronze match
May 13 at 2:30 p.m. Gold match