U.S. Women's Sitting Team Collects Silver at 2025 PVPA Zonal

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 27, 2025) — The third-ranked U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team captured the silver medal at the 2025 ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship after a 3-0 (26-28, 22-25, 20-25) loss to second-ranked Brazil in the gold medal match at the Colorado Convention Center.

It was the third meeting between the two teams in the tournament, with the U.S. (4-1) winning the previous matches in five sets and four sets, respectively. With the gold medal, Brazil (3-2) qualifies for the 2026 ParaVolley World Championship. The U.S. has already qualified due to winning the 2024 Paralympic Games.

Lora Webster was named Best Blocker for the tournament, and Kaleo Kanahele Maclay was named Best Setter.

“We’re disappointed in the outcome,” head coach Bill Hamiter said. “We had set one; we had a five-point lead once, a four-point lead once, and our errors gave it back to them. We were just being really lackadaisical. I tried to tell them, ‘hey, we gotta pick up the energy.’ We let them back in to win that one, and of course that gave them a lot of emotion, and we could never climb back in. I tried every sub I had trying to climb back in. Some days, it just doesn’t happen.”

Raelene Elam was on fire for the U.S., scoring 15 points on 12 kills, two aces and one block. She was the only one in double figures. Monique Matthews had five kills and Webster had four kills and two blocks. Nicky Nieves had three kills and an ace, and Kanahele Maclay had a kill and a block. Whitney Dosty, Tia Edwards, Jillian Williams Coffee and MaKenzie Franklin also all had two points. Lexi Patterson and Emma Schieck each had a kill.

Shout out to Bethany Zummo, who was amazing at libero the entire tournament, playing in every set. Brazil led the U.S. in kills (45-33), aces (6-4) and blocks (9-5).

Next up for the U.S. Women is the Dutch Tournament, July 3-6, in the Netherlands. The ParaVolley World Cup will be hosted in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Oct. 12-18.

Full Stats (PDF)

Schedule/Results

May 24
USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-15)

May 25
USA def. Brazil, 3-2 (25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-11)
USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-11)

May 26
USA def. Brazil, 3-1 (15-25, 25-20, 25-17, 27-25)

May 27
Gold medal match, Brazil def. USA, 3-0 (26-28, 22-25, 20-25)

Roster

No Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
1 Lora Webster (MB, 5-11, Point Lookout, N.Y.)
2 Bethany Zummo (L, 5-3, Dublin, Calif.)
3 Lexi Patterson (S/L, 5-4, Waseca, Minn.)
7 Monique Matthews (MB/OH, 6-0, Ardmore, Okla.)
8 Whitney Dosty (OH/OPP, 6-3, Tucson, Ariz.)
9 Tia Edwards (OH/MB, 5-7, Skiatook, Okla.)
11 Jillian Williams-Coffee (MB/OPP/OH, 5-10, Odem, Texas)
12 Emma Schieck (OH, 5-7, Statesville, N.C.)
14 Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (S, 5-6, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
15 Kendra Hall (5-7, Westfield, Ind.)
16 Nicky Nieves (MB/OH, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla.)
18 Courtney Baker (OH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky.)
22 MaKenzie Franklin (OH, 6-0, Red Wing, Minn., North Country)
24 Raelene Elam (OH, 6-1, St. George, Utah, Northern California)