COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 27, 2019) – The U.S. Women’s National Sitting Team, ranked No. 1 in the world, overwhelmed Peru 25-3, 25-4, 25-12 in the Parapan American Games semifinals on Tuesday in Lima, Peru.
The U.S. Women, now 4-0 at the Parapan Am Games, will play for Parapan American Games gold against Brazil on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET. The Americans defeated Brazil 25-12, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21 on Aug. 25 during pool play. The gold-medal match can be streamed live via the Lima 2019 app.
The Parapan Am Games qualifies one team per gender to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. The U.S. had already qualified for the 2020 Paralympics by finishing second at last summer’s World ParaVolley World Championships, so Brazil has clinched the Parapan Am Games ticket to Tokyo regardless its outcome with the Americans in the title match.
Nicky Nieves (Kissimmee, Florida) led Team USA with nine points including eight kills and an ace. Monique Burkland (Ardmore, Oklahoma) provided four klils and two aces for six points. Lora Webster chipped in six kills in the victory.
Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Washington), Tia Edwards (Skiatook, Oklahoma) and Nichole Millage (Champaign, Illinois) placed five points each on the score sheet. Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Lexi Shifflett (Waseca, Minnesota) each scored four points. Jillian Williams (Odem, Texas) rounded out the scoring with two aces.
Team USA outserved Peru 19-0 in aces and had a 26-3 margin in kills. Peru held a 3-1 edge in blocks.
After the two teams trading the first two points of the set, the U.S. went up 5-1 with four unanswered points. After Peru’s second point of the set, the Americans ran off 11 consecutive to go up 16-2 as Kanahele Maclay served four aces in the spurt. Team USA scored the final nine points of the set for a 25-3 victory.
The U.S. broke a 2-all tie with a 9-0 run to go up 11-2 with Edwards pocketing two aces. After Peru ended the American run, Team USA put together a 13-0 spurt on Shifflett’s serve that included three aces to place the American lead at 24-3 before finishing the set at 25-4.
The third set remained close early on as Team USA broke a 4-all tie with three unanswered points to go up 7-4. The Americans put together an 11-2 run to build a 19-8 advantage and went on to win 25-12.