U.S. Men's Sitting Wins Gold at 2026 Dutch Tournament

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 21, 2026) — The U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team won gold after posting a 5-1 mark at the 2026 Dutch Tournament in Assen, Netherlands after splitting two matches on Sunday. The U.S. dropped a five-setter to Germany, 3-2 (26-24, 20-25, 25-13, 18-25, 15-11) before defeating Kazakhstan, 3-1 (27-25, 25-18, 10-25, 25-19).

The U.S. won the event based on its set ratio against other teams in the tournament, and the win over Kazakhstan gave the U.S., ranked seventh in the world, an encouraging victory over the sixth-ranked team headed into next month’s World Championship.

U.S. vs. Germany

MATCH STATISTICS

The team statistics reflected how evenly matched the teams were. Each team recorded 54 kills with Germany holding a slight edge in service aces (9-7) and blocks (17-16).

Zach Upp paced the U.S. with 24 points on 19 kills, two blocks and shared team-high honors with three aces. Eric Duda totaled 14 points on 12 kills, a block and an ace. Roderick Green led all players with seven blocks, shared the team lead with Upp with three aces and recorded three kills for 13 points.

Ben Aman finished with nine points on six kills and three blocks, while Fabricio added seven kills.

Back-to-back Upp aces that hit the back of the court untouched gave the U.S. a 10-5 lead in the first set. A Duda ace doubled up the score, 14-7. Germany used a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to three points. A kill by Upp put the U.S. in front 21-16 but Germany scored the next four points to pull within a point before Duda ended the run with a kill. Down 22-20, Germany scored four of the next five points to serve for the set, but an Aman kill tied the set at 24 apiece. Germany scored the final two points to take the set.

Germany led 12-10 in the second set before the U.S. scored three points in a row to take the lead. With the set even 16-16, the U.S. scored the next three points, the third on an ace by Green that led to a Germany timeout. Upp scored for a 21-17 advantage and the U.S. went on to take the set with Stuck finishing the set.

Germany raced out to a 5-0 lead in the third set and never trailed. Germany doubled up the U.S., 14-7, and the margin grew to double digits, 18-8. Germany took a 2-1 set lead with a 12-point win in the set.

A Fabricio kill and Green block started the fourth set as the U.S. scored the first four points. An Upp kill gave the U.S. a 14-10 lead after Germany had pulled within a point on multiple occasions. Up 17-13, the U.S. took control of the set with five points in a row. Duda and Green scored the final two points of the run. Upp scored the winner at 24-18 to send the match to a deciding set.

Neither team could get a run going in the final set with the U.S. leading 8-7 when the teams switched sides. Germany scored the first four points when play resumed to send the U.S. to a timeout down three. The U.S. scored the next two points to pull back within a point, 11-10, but Germany scored four of the final five points to take the match.

U.S. vs. Kazakhstan

MATCH STATISTICS

The U.S. held significant leads in blocks (23-10) and service aces (15-8), while Kazakhstan finished with a 42-28 edge in kills.

Upp again led the U.S. in scoring, combining a match-high eight aces with 11 kills and two blocks for 21 points. Duda scored 13 points on six kills, five blocks and two aces, while Green registered a match-best seven blocks with two aces and a block for 10 points.

Stuck totaled nine points on four kills, four blocks and an ace. Fabricio scored five points on three blocks, a kill and an ace, and Roberts added four points on three kills and a block.

When Kazakhstan failed to get Green’s serve back over, the U.S. took a 6-2 lead in the opening set. The lead moved to five points, 11-6, and the lead was still four points, 15-11, before Kazakhstan scored three points to cut the deficit to one point. Kazakhstan took the lead, 18-17, and maintained the one-point advantage, 22-21. The U.S. earned set point on a Green kill that capped a 3-0 run. Kazakhstan responded with three points of its own to earn set point. Roberts scored off the block and Kazakhstan put Green’s serve into the net to give the U.S. the set.

Neither team led by more than two points in the second set until the U.S. strung together three points in a row for a 16-13 lead. A hitting error and Fabricio block put the U.S. up 22-17. A block by Stuck ended the set and gave the U.S. a two-set lead.

Kazakhstan started the third set with 11 consecutive points before Green scored. The lead grew to 22-6 for Kazakhstan, which forced a fourth set.

The fourth set was back-and-forth until the U.S. scored four points in a row, the last on a Duda block, to take a 10-7 lead and force a Kazakhstan timeout. Kazakhstan responded to take a 12-11 lead. With the U.S. clinging to a one-point lead, Green scored twice and Fabricio once to give the U.S. an 18-14 lead. Back-to-back blocks by Fabricio and Aman upped the lead to six points, 22-16. A Duda kill made it 23-17. The teams split the following two points before a lengthy delay as the officials talked things over and the U.S. finished the match.

Men’s 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)
18 Jason Roberts (OH/RS, 6-3, Perry, Ga., Southern)
19 Danny Alvarez Rivadeneira (L/DS, 5-8, West Jordan, Utah, Intermountain)
24 Fabricio da Silva Pinto (OH, 6-1, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil and Dublin, Calif.)
49 Sam Surowiec (OH, 6-2, Everett, Wash.)

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
Watch Live
All times Pacific

June 19
USA def. Ukraine, 3-2 (17-25, 25-18, 25-20, 21-25, 15-11)
USA def. Netherlands, 3-0 (30-28, 25-13, 25-16)

June 20
USA def. Italy, 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-17)
USA def. Poland, 3-2 (25-14, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23 ,15-7)

June 21
Germany def. USA, 3-2 (26-24, 20-25, 25-13, 18-25, 15-11)
USA def. Kazakhstan, 3-1 (27-25, 25-18, 10-25, 25-19)