U.S. Women's Sitting Gets First Win at 2025 World Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 13, 2025) – The U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team won its first match at the 2025 World ParaVolley World Cup Monday with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-13) victory over the Netherlands.

The U.S. (1-1) will play Canada (1-0) on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. PT. All matches will be live streamed on the Turnstone YouTube channel.

The U.S. led the Netherlands in kills (38-14) and aces (8-4), but the Netherlands held an 11-4 edge in blocks.

“Overall, I thought we did good. Yesterday, we let some of our error counts get too high in a couple of sets, so that was a big part of it,” U.S. head coach Bill Hamiter said. “Set one, we made a few mental mistakes but then got into it. I was happy with the win; happy to be able to get a lot of different players in.”

Nicky Nieves led the U.S. with 13 points on 12 kills and a block, while Emma Schieck had 12 points with 10 kills, a block and an ace. Tia Edwards scored eight points with six kills, two aces and a block. Raelene Elam had seven points (five kills, two aces).

Alexis Patterson scored four points with a team-high three aces and a kill. Gia Cruz had an ace and two kills, and Courtney Baker had a kill and a block. Kendra Hall also had a kill.

The first set was close at 15-14 when the U.S. went on a 7-1 run to break it open at 22-15. Nieves gave the U.S. set point on a kill and Elam grabbed an ace for the win.

The U.S. had an early 6-3 lead in set two but the Netherlands tied it at 6. At 9-8, the U.S. scored three straight for a 12-8 lead and then increased it to 16-9. The Netherlands pressured the U.S. into errors and Hamiter called a timeout at 24-20. A Netherlands service error gave the set to the U.S.

Set three was all USA as they broke a 5-5 tie to run away with the match, 25-13.

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 vs. Canada, 12:30 p.m.
Oct. 15: USA vs. Germany, 10:30 a.m.
Oct. 16: USA vs. Brazil, 12:30 p.m.
Oct. 17: Playoff rounds
Oct. 18: Medal Matches