Spangdahlem’s Brooklyn Shakir spikes the ball against Baumholder’s Kayla Johnson during a match on Sept. 28, 2024, at Baumholder High School in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

BAUMHOLDER, Germany – Spangdahlem volleyball coach Daniel Williams wasn’t punishing his first-string players by benching them for almost the entirety of their second match against Baumholder on Saturday morning.

Nor were they surprised. Williams had planned it for multiple reasons.

First: Many of the reserves played JV last year and showed vast improvement during the offseason and at practice. The Sentinel coach wanted to reward them.

Second and perhaps most important: Next weekend, many starters will be taking the SAT. So, they will miss the matchups against this same Baumholder squad and last year’s runner-up, Brussels.

The Sentinels’ second team repaid Williams’ faith by finishing off a doubleheader sweep at Baumholder High School with a 26-24, 25-18, 25-9 victory. Spangdahlem (4-2, 4-2) handled the first match 25-15, 25-11, 25-15.

“It’s important for our team to see we do have depth,” Williams said. “We don’t always have to rely on our first string.

“I think it shows maturity for all my starters to realize that it’s important to let everybody get their reps and trust their teammates.”

A few of those players who sat out the second match included senior Brooklyn Shakir, who posted six kills in the first two sets of the opening match; setter Zoe Figueroa-Arriaga, who amassed 10 aces and junior Maxine Diaz, who produced seven kills and nine aces.

Not all starters sat during the second match against the Buccaneers (1-5, 1-5), though. Opposite hitter Alexis Lauer stepped into a setter role, with the junior earning praise from her coach for her play. That included five dinks for points and six aces.

Williams also pointed to the play of sophomore Sophia Russell, who posted a pair of kills early in the first set.

Figueroa-Arriaga admitted it felt weird to sit on the bench for the entire second match, but she also credited the team for pulling out the victory.

“It’s important that they got some playing time,” the senior captain said. “I support my teammates, and they did really good.”

Spangdahlem junior Alexis Lauer pushes the ball over the net during a match against Baumholder on Sept. 28, 2024, at Baumholder High School in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Spangdahlem senior Zoe Figueroa-Arriaga serves during a match against Baumholder on Sept. 28, 2024, at Baumholder High School in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Baumholder's Olivia Lepkowski uses a bump to set the ball during a match against Spangdahlem on Sept. 28, 2024, at Baumholder High School in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Spangdahlem libero Aniya Robinson digs a ball as fellow Sentinel Alyssa Farmakis watches during a match against Baumholder on Sept. 28, 2024, at Baumholder High School in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Not that it was all smooth sailing for the Sentinels.

Baumholder was on a roll late in the first set and seemed set to pull away. The Buccaneers served out of rotation twice, though, costing them points and ending runs.

Despite those setbacks, the home side still had set point at 24-22 following an Alesia Delinois ace. But Spangdahlem junior Sara Polk got a kill and a pair of aces that, with the help of a net violation, saw the Sentinels score the final four points to steal the set.

Baumholder coach Jeanette Rajkovacz said she was flabbergasted it happened once, let alone two more times in the match. The Buccaneers stumbled early in the second set as well.

She said she’s not sure what happened, but the team doesn’t plan on letting it happen again.

“Every time we lost a point because of the rotation, it took a hit on our morale, and it was hard for them to shake it off,” Rajkovacz said. “We would have probably won that first set if it hadn’t had happened, and I think after that they just got too much in their heads about it.”

Rajkovacz enters her first year in charge of a program that has been in flux in recent years.

With her staying at Baumholder for three years as a military spouse, she expressed the belief she can bring a little stability and put the program on the right path.

“I know they’ve lost coaches to PCS and moves and stuff like that, but we are here for a while,” Rajkovacz said. “So, hopefully, I can get that foundation done.”

As for Spangdahlem, the team came off a pair of losses to two-time defending champion Ansbach the previous weekend.

After taking a set against the Cougars in each of those matches, Williams said the Sentinels showed they can hang with the top teams in the division. It’s all about peaking at the right time, though.

“That’s not to say that we’re underestimating the rest of the (field),” Williams said. “We just know as we showed today, when we play fundamental volleyball, the whole team can win.”