U.S. Women Defeat Slovenia To Take Bronze At Sitting Volleyball World Championships

Team USA celebrates winning the women's sitting volleyball gold-medal match against Team China at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on Sept. 5, 2021 in Chiba, Japan. 

The U.S. women swept past Slovenia on Friday to claim the bronze medal at the WPV Sitting Volleyball World Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina.
With the win, the U.S. has now won a medal at each of the past four world championships, having won silver in 2010, 2014 and 2018. Brazil, which defeated the Americans in the semifinals, went on to beat Canada to claim its first world title and an automatic berth into the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
The U.S. men fell to eventual champions Iran in the quarterfinals and ultimately finished sixth.
The world championships had gotten off to a strong start for the U.S. women. With a 3-0 record through pool play, they earned a bye past the round of 16 and then swept Germany in the quarterfinals.
The semifinals brought a familiar opponent, as the U.S. had defeated Brazil in the semis at both the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics on the way to a gold medal. The Brazilians turned the tables this time, though. Despite a strong performance from outside hitter Monique Matthews, who led the U.S. with 12 points on nine kills, Brazil took advantage of errors to win 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-17).
The bronze-medal game brought a pool play rematch for the U.S. and Slovenia. After Team USA swept the first meeting on Nov. 7, the Americans did it again on Friday, this time winning 25-8, 25-14, 25-10.