PARIS, France — The U.S. women's sitting volleyball team are Paralympic champions for a third consecutive time, including Statesville, North Carolina native Emma Schieck earning her second gold medal at the Paralympic level.
The team hit the court for the gold medal match against China on Saturday at the Paris Games. The U.S. won three sets against China's one, granting the team their position on the podium.
In the first set, the U.S. won 25-21. Schieck was brought in to substitute for Kathryn Bridge around the 18-minute mark, but a serve error gave China a point. Schieck was swapped back out for Bridge shortly after.
The second set went to China 25-23. Schieck wasn't in play during this set.
Set three went to the U.S. 25-20. Schieck again was swapped in for Bridge, this time around the 21-minute mark. She served the ball, which got an attack point response from China's Yixiao Xu. Teammate Bethany Zummo's dig error during the play granted China its last point of the set. Schieck again was swapped out for Bridge shortly after.
The U.S. won the fourth set 25-22 to ultimately win the match. Schieck did not make an appearance during the final set. Overall, the American women earned 98 total points to China's 88.
Schieck was on the court for five minutes in both sets she appeared in.
The Americans rose to the gold medal match after a similar 3-1 victory over Brazil Thursday. Canada defeated Brazil 3-0 for the bronze medal.
Schieck was a big factor in Team USA's 3-0 win over France in the group stage. Schieck led the team with 11 points in that match.
Schieck graduated from South Iredell High School in Statesville where she was a star player on the team's volleyball team, even with nerve damage impacting her left arm. She later went on to join Team USA's sitting volleyball team and played with the team during the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where the team won gold.