U.S. Women's Sitting Team Wins Bronze at 2026 Dutch Tournament

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 21, 2026) — The U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team completed play at the 2026 Dutch Tournament in Assen, Netherlands, with the bronze medal and a 4-2 mark after dropping two matches on Sunday. The U.S. lost to Italy, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-13) and Canada, 3-2 (14-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-22, 15-5).

vs. Italy

The U.S. recorded one more block (7-6) and just one fewer ace (7-6), but Italy finished with a 47-19 advantage in kills.

Ten players scored for the U.S. with Nicky Nieves leading the way with seven points on six kills and an ace. Tia Edwards (team-best three blocks, one kill, one ace) and Kendra Hall (three kills and team-leading two aces) each totaled five points. Emma Schieck finished second on the team with four kills.

The U.S. raced out to a 6-1 lead before a six-point run by Italy. Coffee tied the score 7-7 with a kill. Italy used a three-point spurt to take a four-point lead, 13-10, and eventually built the advantage to six points, 17-11. The U.S. got no closer than three points the rest of the set.

Italy took an early 6-2 lead and ledt throughout the remainder of the second set, doubling up the U.S, 16-8, and taking a double-digit lead, 19-9. The U.S. pulled within five points, 23-18, after scoring three consecutive points, but Italy won the final two points.’

Another hot start by Italy in the third set put the U.S. down 5-1. The lead quickly grew to seven points, 9-2. The U.S. cut the deficit to five points, 12-7, before Italy used a 6-0 run to push the lead to 11 points. The lead grew to 13 points, 23-10, and Italy coasted to the set and match.

vs. Canada

Canada had the edge in kills (34-27) while the U.S had a 21-18 edge in aces. The real difference was in blocking, with Canada having 17 to four for the U.S.

MaKenzie Franklin-Wittman led the U.S. with 15 points six kills, one block and an outstanding eight aces. Emma Schieck had nine points (eight kills, one block.) Cami Wood had seven points (four kills, two aces, one block), and Nicky Nieves had three kills and four aces for seven points. Gia Cruz scored six points with three aces and three kills; and Annie Flood, Courtney Baker, Jillian Coffee and Tia Edwards all scored twice.

The U.S. ran out to a 9-3 lead in the opening set. Canada pulled within two points, 12-10, before the U.S. scored three points in a row to prompt a timeout. A kill from Cruz and consecutive aces from Nieves made it 15-10. After the timeout, an Edwards block keyed three more points on Nieves’ serve for an 18-10 advantage. A Nieves kill on a second ball put the U.S. up 23-14 and after a Canada hitting error, Coffee delivered a kill to end the set.

Canada took an early 3-1 lead in the second set, but the U.S. scored the next seven points with two Franklin-Wittman aces sending Canada to a timeout. A 5-1 Canada run closed the gap to two points, 10-8. The U.S. scored six of the next seven points for a 16-9 lead, but the set of runs continued as Canada ran off the next six points to force the U.S. to take a timeout. After the teams split the next two points, a Franklin-Wittman kill and a Schieck kill on a scrambling play started the U.S. on an 8-2 run to end the set.

Canada roared out to a 7-3 lead in the third set. The U.S. cut the lead to two points, but Canada pushed the lead back to five points, 12-7, when the U.S. took a timeout. An ace raised the margin to eight points, 18-10. Canada finished the set by scoring seven of the final nine points.

Canada continued its momentum from the third set by scoring the first four points of the fourth set. Led by Franklin-Wittman’s serving, the U.S. tied the set 5-5. A Baker ace gave the U.S. its first lead of the set, 9-8. A Franklin-Wittman ace expanded the lead to four points, 18-14. Canada scored the next four points to tie the set, but after a timeout, Schieck scored to put the U.S. back in front. Canada regained the lead 22-21 and the U.S. took its final timeout. Canada scored three of the last four points to send the match to a fifth set.

An ace gave Canada a 3-0 lead in the fifth set. After giving up two points, Canada used another three-point run for a 6-2 lead. Schieck stopped the run with a kill and after a hitting error, the U.S. cut the deficit to two points. Canada took an 8-4 lead into the side switch and scored the next six points to set up match point. The U.S. stopped one match point before Canada completed the reverse sweep.

Women’s Roster

No  Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
1 Lora Webster (MB, 5-11, Point Lookout, N.Y.)
4 Maddy Ball (L, 5-7, Delray Beach, Fla.)
9 Tia Edwards (OH/MB, 5-7, Skiatook, Okla.)
11 Jillian Williams Coffee (M/OPP/OH, 5-10, Odem, Texas, Oklahoma)
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, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla.)
17 Jessie West (OH, 5-8, Edmond, Okla.)
18 Courtney Baker (OH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky.)
19 Cami Wood (S, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
20 Kylee Doremus (S/OH, Waverly, Neb.)
21 Annie Flood (S, 5-7, Salem, Ore.)
22 MaKenzie Franklin-Wittman (OH, 6-0, Red Wing, Minn., North Country)
28 Vivian Eagle (MB/OH, Avon, Ind.)

Head Coach: Bill Hamiter
Assistant Coach: Grace Campbell
Assistant Coach: Steve Florio
Team Leader: Layne Smith
Performance Analyst: Jeff Hicks
Athletic Trainer: Samantha Carter

Schedule
All times Pacific

Watch Live

June 19
USA def. Poland, 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-15)
USA def. Ukraine, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18).

June 20
USA def. Germany, 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-13)
USA def. Netherlands, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-8)

June 21
Italy def. USA, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-13)
Canada def. USA, 3-2 (14-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-22, 15-5)