PARIS, France — The United States women's sitting volleyball team will compete for its third consecutive gold medal after defeating Brazil at the Paris Paralympics.
Team USA beat Brazil 3-1 on Thursday to advance from the semifinal round. Kathryn Bridge led the team with 21 points in the match.
The gold medal match between Team USA and China takes place on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on CNBC and Peacock. The two nations have played in the gold medal match in the last four Paralympic Games.
The U.S. won the first set 25-22 before losing the second set with the same score. With the match tied 1-1, Team USA easily won the next two sets 25-14 and 25-15 to win the contest.
Statesville native Emma Schieck only appeared briefly in the match. She played in all four sets but did not score any points.
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.
The United States has won the last two gold medals in the women's sitting volleyball event. Team USA beat China in both 2016 and 2021. The U.S. won silver in 2008 and 2012 and won bronze in 2004, the first year women's sitting volleyball was offered at the Paralympics.