20 16 PARALYMPICS


NUMBER ONE: The U.S. Paralympic Women’s Sitting Team swept China in the gold-medal match to reach their goal in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Golden moment for the USA


U.S. Women’s Sitting Team overcomes hurdle against rival China in finals by Karen Patterson • Photos: Loren Worthington


AFTER MULTIPLE SECOND-PLACE FINISHES TO China since the 2008 Paralympic Games, the U.S. Para- lympic Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team was determined to rewrite the story at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


The team reached its goal in spectacular fashion, defeat- ing China 25-12, 25-12, 25-18 in the gold medal final, winning the first Paralympic gold medal by a U.S. Sitting Volleyball Team. “We’ve worked hard the past four years for this and the outcome just shows how hard we worked,” Monique Burkland said after the win. “We just went point by point. We know they don’t give up and always come back. We’ve been in that position before where they’ve come back and won, so we knew we had to keep going at it.” The gold medal finale marked a tournament that saw multiple highlights for both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Sitting Teams. The U.S. Women entered the Paralympic Games widely


regarded as one of the favorites to win gold. Entering the Paralympics with a 17-2 record in 2016, Team USA started the tournament focused solely on one goal: win the gold medal. Women’s Sitting Volleyball was introduced as a Paralym- pic sport in 2004. The U.S. won bronze at the inaugural


SOLID PLAY: Katie Holloway provided veteran leadership and solid play on the court throughout the Paralympics, including against China in the gold-medal match.


28 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at usavolleyball.org/mag


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