Kaiserslautern middle blocker Mariska Campbell goes for the block against Stuttgart hitter Hannah Holmes during an Oct. 5, 2024, match at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Championships aren’t won in early October, but that doesn’t stop teams from showing off their credentials against their top rivals.

For the Kaiserslautern girls volleyball team, this weekend was more than putting the rest of DODEA-Europe’s Division I on notice – it was to prove that to the team itself.

The morning after a thrilling five-set victory over crosstown rival Ramstein, the Raiders came out and handed previously unbeaten Stuttgart its first loss of the season during another five-set match 22-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 15-8 on Saturday at Kaiserslautern High School.

With two wins over opponents in the top four in the standings, Kaiserslautern (6-2, 6-2) staked its claim as a title contender in the buzzsaw that is Division I.

“It validates for us, ‘OK, we can compete with anybody,’” Kaiserslautern coach Zac Robinson said. “That’s what we had a lot of this weekend, being like, ‘All right, we can do this. We can compete. We’re good enough to play with anyone.’”

The Raiders avoided an emotional letdown after Friday evening’s win over Ramstein (4-4, 4-4) when they faced the Panthers (7-1, 4-1).

The hosts dropped the first set but bounced back with a 16-5 run to finish the second set and even the match. Kezley Kai had a pair of aces, Briana Shields had three dinks for points to lead the way.

Kaiserslautern had a big rally in which the back row dug out three huge swings by Stuttgart hitters that ended in a point to make it 15-12, the closest it was the rest of the set.

Then, in the fourth set, the Raiders kicked into another gear late to extend the match. In fact, after a kill by Stuttgart’s Jaylee Brown made it 17-17, Kaiserslautern only trailed or was tied at just one other point – 1-2 and 2-2 early in the fifth set.

Having played no five-set matches heading into the weekend, the Raiders found themselves in two and coming out on top. The feat was made more impressive that Stuttgart already won a pair of five-set matches coming into Saturday.

“We found out how much we can play, how much we can come back,” said Kaiserslautern senior Mariska Campbell, who had nine kills. “We got to work on our composure through the whole time, but it’s very hard to go five sets in two days with two of the hardest teams to beat.”

Kaiserslautern's Briana Shields spikes the ball at the net against Stuutgart blockers Hannah Holmes, left, and Jaylee Brown during an Oct. 5, 2024, match at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Mia Snyder sets the ball during an Oct. 5, 2024, match against Kaiserslautern at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Jaylee Brown, center, and Hannah Holmes jump at the net to stop an attack by Kaiserslautern's Kezley Kai during an Oct. 5, 2024, match at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern libero Marisa Branch bumps the ball as teammate Kezley Kai, left, and Bianca Ocampo watch during an Oct. 5, 2024, match against Stuttgart at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart libero Zoe Schneidt goes down for a dig while teammates Jaylee Brown, back, and Brooklyn Biles watch during a match against Kaiserslautern on Oct. 5, 2024, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein libero Emma Inthavixay goes to a knee to dig out a ball during a match against Stuttgart on Oct. 5, 2024, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Ella Yost, center left, and Nolle Murphy try to block an attack by Stuttgart's Jaylee Brown during a match on Oct. 5, 2024, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Amaya Payton serves during a match against Stuttgart on Oct. 5, 2024, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart freshman Brooklyn Biles spikes the ball as Ramstein's Cara Arnold jumps at the net during a match on Oct. 5, 2024, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Robinson praised every player, including Shields and her dual role of hitter and setter as shown by her 11 kills and 15 assists.

Libero Marisa Branch amassed 28 digs, while freshman setter Bella Flowers had 16 assists and played better defensively, according to her coach.

“Our serve-receive was very solid today,” Robinson said. “It was really a team effort. They all just played solid volleyball.”

Stuttgart coach Bethany Trimble credited Kaiserslautern’s stout defense for stymieing the Panthers. She said her attackers kept trying to go at the height of Campbell and Rozlynn Onnen at the net, and the team must learn to take different angles against such an opponent.

Still, she was pleased as Stuttgart bounced back against Ramstein in the afternoon session at Kaiserslautern High School with a 25-17, 20-25, 25-15, 25-22 victory.

The offense found the holes in the Ramstein defense. Freshman Brooklyn Biles had 14 kills in the match, Brown had 10 and Sara Houghton had seven.

“I challenged them to recover and take that loss now as something to learn from,” Trimble said. “We’d rather take it now than take it later in the tournament.”

The Panthers got on rolls Ramstein couldn’t stop in the match.

In the first set, they went on an 11-2 run to take a commanding 21-12 lead. Biles started it with a dink, while Brown had three kills and Peyton Mannin had a block-point.

Then, in the third set, Stuttgart rattled off nine consecutive points to make it 16-10. Hannah Holmes had back-to-back kills, Sara Houghton had three of her team-high eight aces and Biles slammed two kills during that run.

“When we’re on a roll, we’re hard to stop because our hitters are so incredible and our defense, we don’t let the ball drop,” said setter Mia Snyder, who had 26 assists against Kaiserslautern and 30 vs. Ramstein. “We fight for every single point when we’re on and we want it really badly.”

The Royals had some success using the Panthers’ aggressive defensive approach at the net against them.

Ramstein dinked the ball over the blockers and in the hole in front of the back line with 17 of them going for points. Lauren Meusel, Amaya Payton and Noelle Murphy each had three on the day.

Royal coach Kandel Baxter said her young team still has plenty of work ahead of it to reach its peak, but the fact the Royals haven’t been blown out in any of the matches against the top five in the standings (Wiesbaden and Vilseck included, although the Royals and Falcons haven’t met on the court yet) is a good sign ahead of the tournament that begins Oct. 31.

“Their defense, the way they have it set up, there are holes to be found,” Baxter said of Stuttgart. “We tried to attack them.

“Hopefully, we’ll get them next time, but we don’t see them until the Euros. It’ll be a long wait.”