U.S. Women's Sitting Downs Germany at 2025 World Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 15, 2025) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team took care of business Wednesday afternoon at the 2025 World Cup with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-10) victory over Germany at the Turnstone Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The U.S. (3-1) will play undefeated Brazil (3-0) Thursday at 12:30 p.m. All matches will be live streamed on the Turnstone YouTube channel.

The match between the U.S. and Brazil is the final test before the playoffs on Friday. In their last meeting at the ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship, Brazil defeated the U.S. 3-0 after the Americans had already beaten Brazil twice in the tournament.

Against Germany, the U.S. led in kills (32-10), blocks (10-5) and aces (13-6).

Raelene Elam and Nicky Nieves were both on fire, scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively. Elam had nine kills, two blocks and a team-high five aces, and Nieves had eight kills, two aces and a team-high five blocks.

Gia Cruz scored eight points on five kills and three aces, and Emma Schieck had seven points with five kills, one block and an ace. Tia Edwards had three kills, a block and an ace, and Alexis Patterson notched a kill, block and an ace. Bethany Zummo and Kari Ortiz were awesome on defense while sharing libero duties. Zummo also had a coveted libero kill.

After Germany jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set one, the U.S. settled down to score 10 of the next 11 for a commanding 10-5 lead. The U.S. led by as many as nine at 21-12, but Germany had a late run to close the gap to three at 21-18. Germany had three errors in the final minutes of the match to give up the set 25-18.

Germany held a 10-9 lead in the second before nine straight U.S. points made it 18-10. The U.S. lead continued to grow as they took advantage of Germany errors.

The U.S. continued its dominance in set three, leading by six early, 13-7. The lead grew to eight, 17-9, with three kills from Cruz and an ace from Schieck. Cruz later served consecutive aces to make it 24-10, and Nieves ended the match on a block.

U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Roster for World Cup

No  Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
2 Bethany Zummo (L, 5-3, Dublin, Calif.)
3 Alexis Patterson (S/L, 5-4, Waseca, Minn.)
4 Maddy Ball (DS, 5-7, Delray Beach, Fla.)
9 Tia Edwards (OH/MB, 5-7, Skiatook, Okla.)
10 Kari Ortiz (L, 5-6, Washington, D.C.)
12 Emma Schieck (OH, 5-7, Statesville, N.C.)
13 Gia Cruz (S, 5-5, San Antonio, Texas)
15 Kendra Hall (5-7, Westfield, Ind.)
16 Nicky Nieves (MB/OH, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla.)
17 Jessie West (OH, 5-8, Edmond, Okla.)
18 Courtney Baker (MH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky.)
21 Annie Flood (S, 5-7, Salem, Ore.)
24 Raelene Elam (OH, 6-1, St. George, Utah, Northern California)

Head Coach: Bill Hamiter
Assistant Coach: Grace Campbell
Performance Analyst: Jeff Hicks
Athletic Trainer: Samantha Carter
Mental Performance Coach: Brooke Lamphere
Team Manager: Jon Aharoni

Schedule

All times Pacific
Oct. 12: Italy def. USA, 3-2 (18-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-17, 16-14)
Oct. 13: USA def. Netherlands, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-13)
Oct. 14: USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-23)
Oct. 15: USA def. Germany, 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-10)
Oct. 16: USA vs. Brazil, 12:30 p.m.
Oct. 17: Playoff rounds
Oct. 18: Medal Matches