U.S. Men's Sitting Team to Play for Gold After Five-Set Thriller Over Canada at 2025 PVPA Zonal

James Stuck sets — James Stuck by Rebecca Slezak

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 27, 2025) – The eighth-ranked U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team earned a spot in the gold medal match at the 2025 ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship with a thrilling 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12) victory over Canada.

The U.S. Men (3-1) will play fifth-ranked Brazil (4-0) in the gold medal match on Tuesday, May 28, at 12 p.m. MT/11 a.m. PT. Admission to the ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship is free for all spectators at the Colorado Convention Center. Watch the Zonals livestream.

Outside hitter James Stuck led five U.S. players in double figures with a match-high 20 points on 17 kills and a team-high three blocks. Fellow outside Zach Upp posted 19 points on a match-best 17 kills with one block and once ace.

Outside Eric Duda tallied 16 points on 13 kills and three aces, middle blocker Roderick Green totaled 13 points on 11 kills and two blocks, and outside Jason Roberts finished with nine points on six kills, two blocks and an ace.

The U.S. finished with a 65-44 edge in kills, while Canada held advantages in blocks (17-9) and aces (8-6).

Three kills by Stuck helped the U.S. jump out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set. The lead was three points late in the set, 12-9, when Canada reeled off three consecutive points to tie. Green, Upp and Stuck registered three kills in a row to give the U.S. the hard-fought semifinal win.

After Canada won the first set, the U.S. bounced back to take the next two sets. A Roberts kill gave the U.S. a two-point win in the second set and Stuck’s five kills and two blocks keyed the victory in the third set.

“We came out and we were kind of flat, and they dictated the match from the jump,” team captain Rod Green said. “Coach (Greg Walker) called us over and he said ‘just play your game, look for hands; if you have an open scene take them, don’t try to force anything.’ Those are the adjustments that we made. We just went back to playing the ball that we had been training for all year long.”

The U.S. Men seemed poised to win the match in four sets, using an 8-1 run to take a 19-15 lead, but Canada scored 10 of the final 11 points of the set to even the match at two sets apiece.

Green said he’s been happy with the team’s performance this tournament.

“I think the team’s been doing great, more [than just] on the court,” he said. “It’s the things that people don’t see. We’ve come together so much as a program over the past two years. They’re more like brothers and family, and laughing while playing. This has been one of the most comfortable teams I’ve ever been on for sitting volleyball, and I’ve been on this team since 2007. This is the most together we’ve ever been as a unit. In the past, we would go down and we’d be down two sets or one set, and we would just fold. We fought back and we pushed it, and we won the match.”

Full Stats (PDF)

Men’s 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 (S/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.)
11 Roderick Green (MB, 6-3, West Monroe, La.)
14 John Kremer (L, 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)