U.S. Men's Sitting Team Finishes Fourth at 2025 World Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 18, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team finished in fourth place at the 2025 World Cup with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 15-25, 25-23) loss to Kazakhstan Saturday afternoon at the Turnstone Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The U.S., ranked eighth in the world, finished the tournament 5-3. Kazakhstan is ranked seventh and won the bronze with a 7-1 record. The gold medal final will be a matchup between World No. 2 Egypt and World No. 5 Brazil, as the top four ranked teams all advanced to the semifinals.

“I told the team earlier that this is a major international tournament, and the United States has historically not had a top eight finish ever,” U.S. head coach Greg Walker said. “The fact that we can be competing in a medal round is pretty significant. I think about the narrative we create, but at the end of the day you have to take care of things when you get the opportunity. I’m proud of guys for locking in to get themselves here.”

The U.S. led Kazakhstan in kills (54-45) and blocks (14-5). Each team had five aces.

Again, Zach Upp led the U.S., this time with 29 points on 25 kills, one block and a team-high three aces. He finished the tournament as the leading scorer with 144 points and 110 kills. He was second in aces with 27.

Eric Duda was solid the entire match, scoring 13 points on 13 kills. James Stuck had 10 points on seven kills and three blocks.

Ben Aman had nine points with four blocks, four kills and an ace. Jason Roberts had four kills and four blocks for eight points. John Kremer had an ace, a kill and a block.

The first set was everything fans could hope for, tied at 16-16 midway through. A Duda kill gave the U.S. a 17-16 lead, causing the Kazakhstan coach to take a timeout as the momentum switched. Kazakhstan tied it after the timeout and a kill gave them an 18-17 lead. The two teams were tied at 21 when an Upp error and Kazakhstan kill made it 23-21.

After a U.S. timeout, Kazakhstan had a service error for 23-22; a kill gave Kazakhstan set point, 24-22, but an Upp kill made it 24-23. The comeback fell short on another Kazakhstan kill.

Set two wasn’t as close, though the U.S. never stopped fighting. Kazakhstan had an early 9-4 lead, but four straight U.S. points made it 9-8. Kazakhstan used a timeout to regroup and score three straight for 12-8. The closest the U.S. got after that was 19-16, but Kazakhstan used its powerful offense to shut down the comeback, 25-18.

Kazakhstan jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third set. An Aman kill after a U.S. timeout stopped the run, and a Kazakhstan error and U.S. kill made it 7-4. After the timeout, the U.S. scored four more to take an 8-7 lead. After a great serving run, Aman served it out to tie it again at 8-8.

The U.S. made a move at 11, scoring three straight for a 14-11. After a Kazakhstan timeout, the U.S. continued its run, breaking open the match at 16-13 for five straight points. The U.S. scored four of the last six points for a 25-15 win.

“We’re really good in our storybook to create some good chapters,” Walker said. “We start out in games and there’s an early separation, but we do claw back mid to late set. We’ve proven we can lock in and go.”

The U.S. quickly erased a 3-0 deficit in set four to tie it 3-3. Kazakhstan kept pressuring to take a 12-7 lead, but the U.S. scored three points to cut the deficit to two. The U.S. cut the lead to one at 14-13 on an Upp kill. Each time Kazakhstan took a lead, the U.S. battled back, finally tying it at 20. An Aman kill tied it again at 22 and Kremer dropped in an ace for 23-22. But Kazakhstan used a kill, a U.S. error and an ace to close out the match.

Roster
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
2 Dan Regan (OH, 6-0, St. Louis, Mo.)
3 Nick Dadgostar (L, 6-0, Sidney, Neb.)
4 Ben Aman (OH, 6-5, Edmond, Okla.)
5 Eric Duda (OH, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
6 Alex Wilson (OPP/OH, 6-6, Saugerties, N.Y.)
7 Robbie Gaupp (OH, 6-4, Gatesville, Texas)
8 James Stuck (S/OH, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa.)
10 Robbie Onusko(OH, 6-0, Daytona Beach, Fla.)
14 John Kremer (S, 5-9, Buford, Ga.)
17 Zach Upp (OH, 6-5, Bartlett, Ill.)
20 Jason Roberts (OH, 6-3, Moncks Corner, S.C.)
22 Brett Parks(OH, 6-0, Miami, Fla.)
23 Will Curtis (S/L, 6-0, Cumberland, Maine)
49 Sam Surowiec (OH, 6-2, Everett, Wash.)

Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Julie Allen
Assistant Coach: Jeffrey Smith
Strength Coach: Bobby Moore
Physical Therapist: Whitney Padgett
Team Manager: Brian Farr
Tech Coordinator: Drew Graystone
Sport Psychologist: Taylor Gabler

Schedule

All times Pacific
Oct. 12: USA def. Thailand, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-22)
Oct. 13: USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16)
Oct. 13: USA def. Italy, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17)
Oct. 14: USA def. Poland, 3-1 (25-19 22-25, 25-21, 25-20)
Oct. 15: Kazakhstan def. USA, Kazakhstan, 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 15-12)
Oct. 16: USA def. France, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-14)
Oct. 17: Semifinals: Brazil def. USA, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 26-24)
Oct. 18: Bronze Medal Match: Kazakhstan def. USA, 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 15-25, 25-23)