DALLAS, Texas (May 25, 2018) – Players from the U.S. Women’s and Men’s Sitting Teams enjoyed the chance to play in front of their fellow volleyball enthusiasts on Friday at the USAV Open National Championships at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
The two U.S. National Sitting Teams each played two exhibition matches against Canada with each team finishing 2-0.
But more important than the victories was the chance to play with full teams against international competition.
“It’s good to work with a good group of guys who are here for the USA,” U.S. Men’s middle blocker James Stuck said. “We traveled with smaller rosters to Iran and Canada (earlier this season) so it’s great to have a full roster of guys here.”
The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team, ranked No. 1 in the world, never misses a chance to promote sitting volleyball, which both disabled and able-bodied people can play.
“To play at Opens is huge for us,” U.S. Women’s Team Captain and outside hitter Katie Holloway said. “It’s huge for us to spread the awareness to adult volleyball players who are passionate about the game so that we can include them in some of our training and get them playing the sport as well.
“They can also keep their eyes and ears open and find disabled players for us as well.”
Both teams are preparing for the Sitting Volleyball World Championships on July 15-22 in Netherlands.
“We’re working hard at making sure we’re as in-system as possible, even when our passes are not as good as we want,” Stuck said. “We’re working on putting pressure on the other team by taking big swings and keeping them under our thumb as much as possible.”
DALLAS SCHEDULE (All times CT) –
May 25
U.S. Men def Canada, 25-15, 15-25, 25-17, 25-11
U.S. Women def Canada, 25-20, 15-15, 25-18
U.S. Men def Canada, 19-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-18
U.S. Women vs Canada, 25-14, 25-11, 25-17
Saturday, May 26
8 a.m. U.S. Women vs Canada
10 a.m. U.S. Men vs Canada
2 p.m. U.S. Women vs Canada
4 p.m. U.S. Men vs Canada
Sunday, May 27
8 a.m. U.S. Men vs Canada
10 a.m. U.S. Women vs Canada
U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Roster for Dallas
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
1. Lora Webster (MB, 5-11, Point Lookout, N.Y.)
2. Bethany Zummo (L, 5-2, Dublin, Calif.)
3. Lexi Shifflett (S, 5-4, Waseca, Minn.)
5. Katie Holloway (OH, 6-3, Lake Stevens, Wash.)
6. Heather Erickson (OH, 5-11, Fayetteville, NC)
7. Monique Burkland (OH, 5-9, Ardmore, Okla.)
8. Whitney Dosty (OH, 6-3, Tucson, Ariz.)
10. Annie Flood (S, 5-7, Salem, Ore.)
11. Jillian Williams (S/Opp, 5-10, Odem, Texas)
13. Nichole Millage (OH, 5-7, Champaign, Ill.)
14. Kaleo Maclay (S, 5-6, Edmond, Okla.)
16. Nicky Nieves (MB, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla.)
17. Tia Edwards (OH, 5-7, Skitatook, Okla.)
Head Coach: Bill Hamiter
Assistant Coach: Laz Beltran
Assistant Coach: Jon Aharoni
Team Manager: Michelle Goodall
Technical Coordinator: Jeffrey Hicks
Athletic Trainer: Patrick Lawrence
U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team Roster for Dallas
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
1. Travis Ricks (L, 5-7, San Diego, Calif.)
2. Dan Regan (MB, 6-0, Edmond, Okla.)
3. Nick Dadgostar (OH, 6-0 Sidney, Neb.)
5. Eric Duda (OH, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
7. Stephen Bracken (Opp, 6-4, Brighten, Colo.)
8. James Stuck (MB, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa.)
11. Roderick Green (MB, 6-3, West Monroe, La.)
12. Patrick Young (OH, 6-4, Albuquerque, N.M.)
13. Charlie Swearingen (OH, 6-3, Gulfport, Miss.)
14. John Kremer (L, 5-9, Buford, Ga.)
17. Zach Upp (Opp, 6-5, Bartlett, Ill.)
18. J Dee Marinko (OH, 6-4, Guthrie, Okla.)
Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Joe Skinner
Assistant Coach: Kyle Homeyer
Technical Coordinator: Galen Dodd
Athletic Trainer: Kat Matthes