U.S. Women's Sitting Team Survives Brazil at 2025 PVPA Zonal

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 25, 2025) — The third-ranked U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team withstood a furious rally at the 2025 ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship, posting a 3-2 (25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-11) victory over No. 2 Brazil.

The U.S. (2-0) will return to the court later today to face No. 1 Canada at 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT. On Saturday, the U.S. defeated Canada in three sets. Matches are live streamed on our event page.

Monique Matthews paced the U.S. with 17 points with a team-high 14 kills in addition to two blocks and an ace. Jillian Williams Coffee (11 kills, two blocks, one ace) had 14 points, and Raelene Elam (nine kills, three blocks and one ace) contributed 13 points.

Lora Webster recorded a match-high six blocks and added two kills to total eight points. Tia Edwards scored 11 points, registering three kills to go with three blocks and a match-best five aces. Kaleo Kanahele Maclay finished with seven points on three kills, three blocks and an ace. Nicky Nieves scored five points on five kills; Whitney Dosty had four points on three kills and an ace, and Lexi Patterson had an ace

“I thought we played well throughout, especially the first two sets,” Hamiter said. “Our error count was under six, which is super good for us. I changed the lineup in set three; we really should have won that. I thought we had our chances. Set four… same thing. Overall, when you’re looking at your second match of the year, I thought we handled things pretty well. A little up and down for us, but some of that is to be expected.

“We really want to get players in,” Hamiter continued. “It’s the first time Raelene (Elam) has played all around quite a bit. She started, and I thought she did a pretty good job. That’s what we have to keep doing, playing those players so they can step up when we need them.”

The U.S. continued its momentum from a sweep of Canada yesterday, cruising to 25-17 wins in each of the first two sets and extending its winning streak to five sets to open the tournament.

Consecutive kills by Matthews gave the U.S. a 19-12 lead in the first set and an Edwards ace closed the opening set. Brazil scored five of the first seven points in the second set before a 14-3 U.S. run, highlighted by three kills and a block from Webster in a 5-1 stretch. A Nicky Nieves kill made it 24-16 and Coffee ended the set with a kill.

Brazil led 18-17 in the third set before a 5-1 run positioned the U.S. to complete a sweep with a 22-19 lead. A Whitney Dosty kill tied the set at 18 and Matthews put the U.S. ahead by one. After falling behind by three, Brazil ran off five consecutive points for a 24-22 lead, eventually winning the set 26-24.

The U.S. fell behind 8-2 in the fourth set but went on a 12-4 run to take a 14-12 lead. Edwards served a pair of aces to even the set at 12 before a Webster block gave the U.S. the lead. A Coffee kill put the U.S. ahead 23-22, but Brazil evened the match by scoring the last three points.

Two kills and a block by Elam helped the U.S. take a 6-1 lead in the deciding set. Brazil twice cut the lead to two points (7-5 and 11-9), but two errors gave the U.S. a late four-point advantage, 13-9. A kill from Coffee made it 14-10 and an Elam kill sealed the match.

Hamiter said he relies on his players to find the motivation they need to win.

“That’s up to the players,” he said. “My job is to let them know what’s going on, what they need to do, the technical and tactical parts we need to execute on. They stayed calm and played the game.”

Brazil held a slight edge in kills (52-50), while finishing with a 19-13 advantage in blocks and 11-7 in aces. Janaina Petit Cunha led all players with 21 kills and 26 points.

Full Match 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 vs. Canada, 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT

May 26
USA vs. Brazil, 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT

May 27
Gold medal match, 1 vs 2 at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT

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)