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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 22, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team opened the USAV Sitting Cup with a hard-fought 3-1 (25-16, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23) win over Germany on Saturday morning in Orlando, Florida. The U.S. is ranked sixth in the world, while Germany is ranked seventh.
The U.S. will play two matches tomorrow, facing Brazil’s Club Athletico Paulistano at 10 a.m. ET and the world’s eighth-ranked team, Canada, at 2 p.m. ET.
Germany finished with a slight edge in kills (50-49) and blocks (14-12) but the U.S. held a significant advantage in service aces (11-2). Several U.S. players were playing in roles they had not played in international competition.
Outside hitter Zach Upp led all players in points (30), kills (19), blocks (5) and aces (6). Eric Duda totaled 15 points on 11 kills, three blocks and an ace.
“I’m pretty happy with the resilience that we showed. We haven’t played with these challenges, so for the first time as a (different) team, we responded every single time and absolutely bounced back. I am so excited for the future of this team,” Duda remarked. “Ben (Aman) and Jason (Roberts) have set in scrimmages but this was the first time under this kind of pressure with all of USA Volleyball watching, they stepped up.”
Fabricio da Silva Pinto (six kills and two blocks) and middle blocker Roderick Green (six kills, one block and one ace) each scored eight points. Aman finished with six points on four kills, one block and an ace. Roberts added five points on three kills and a pair of blocks.
Behind a kill and a block from middle blocker Roderick Green, the U.S. scored the first four points of the match. Upp scored the team’s next four points for an 8-2 lead. A Fabrico kill moved the advantage to eight points, 13-5. Blocks by Duda and Upp gave the U.S. a 22-11 lead. Germany held off three set points before a hitting error ended the set.
Germany jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. A Duda kill evened the score at 6-6 and a Fabricio kill tied the score again 8-8. Germany scored the next three points and led for the remainder of the set until a late comeback by the U.S. The lead stretched to five points, 18-13. A Fabricio kill and Duda ace cut the deficit to two points, 19-17. Outside hitter Aman recorded a block and a kill to make it 22-20.
The U.S. appeared to pull within a point at 23-22, but a successful Germany challenge made it 24-21 instead. Aman and Roberts recorded back-to-back kills to bring the U.S. within a point and force a Germany timeout. A Roberts block on the following rally evened the set for the first time since 8-8. Germany scored the next point for its fourth set point, but the U.S. took the set by scoring the next three points. After Roberts tied the set again with a kill, Upp served an ace for the first U.S. lead of the set. After Germany used its final timeout, Fabricio gave the U.S. a 2-0 match lead with a block.
Germany moved out to an 8-4 lead in the third set, causing the U.S. to take an early timeout. A Fabricio kill cut the lead to two, 9-7, but Germany scored the next six points for an eight-point lead. Upp’s 11th kill and 15th point of the match capped a 5-1 U.S. run that cut the lead back to three points. After Germany took a 20-14 lead, the U.S. ran off four consecutive points, keyed by a Duda kill after one of the match’s longest rallies. Another Duda kill, this time off a successful U.S. challenge, brought the U.S. within a point, 22-21, before Germany scored the final three points of the set to extend the match.
Consecutive aces by Upp put the U.S. up 9-5 in the fourth set. Fabricio gave the U.S. an 11-6 lead with a kill and the lead eventually reached six, 13-7. Duda’s 10th kill stopped a three-point Germany run for a 14-10 U.S. lead, starting a 5-0 run that put the U.S. up 18-10. In a set of runs, Germany ran off the next four points to cut the lead back to four and force a U.S. timeout.
Duda’s 12th kill of the match out of the timeout gave the U.S. a five-point advantage, but Germany pulled within three points, 20-17, and led to the final U.S. timeout. Upp’s 14th kill put the U.S. up 22-18. The U.S. appeared to clinch the match, but a successful Germany challenge made it 24-22. After Germany held off one match point, a Roberts kill off a Duda set sealed the U.S. victory.
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)
3 Nick Dadgostar (L, 6-0, Sidney, Neb., Great Plains)
4 Ben Aman (OH, 6-5, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma)
5 Eric Duda (S/OH, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Florida)
6 Alex Wilson (OPP/OH, 6-6, Saugerties, N.Y.,)
8 James Stuck (S/OH, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa., Keystone)
10 Robbie Onusko (OH, 6-0, Daytona Beach, Fla., Florida)
11 Roderick Green (MB, 6-3, West Monroe, La., Bayou)
17 Zach Upp (OH, 6-5, Bartlett, Ill., Great Lakes)
19 Danny Alvarez Rivadeneira (L/DS, 5-8, West Jordan, Utah, Intermountain)
20 Jason Roberts (OH/RS, 6-3, Perry, Ga., Southern)
24 Fabricio da Silva Pinto (OH, 6-1, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil and Dublin, Calif.)
Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Ladislav Lelkes
Assistant Coach: Julie Allen
Sport Psychologist: Taylor Gabler
Performance Analyst: Sydnie Mabry
Therapist: Whitney Padgett
Team Manager: Connor Martin
Consultants: Jeff Smith, Dave Dantes
Schedule
All times Eastern
Friday, May 22
USA def. Germany, 3-1 (25-16, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23)
Saturday, May 23
10 a.m.: USA vs. Club Athletico Paulistano
2 p.m.: USA vs. Canada
Sunday, May 24
10 a.m.: No. 3 vs. No. 4
2 p.m.: Championship (No. 1 vs. No. 2)