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)
The Division I tournament’s round-robin portion of the DODEA European championships felt like a formality the past two seasons.
Sure, anybody could have qualified for the finals, but in the end, Wiesbaden and Ramstein ended up as the last two standing.
In 2024, though, the preliminary round seems different. After a regular season that saw the top five squads in the standings beat up each other, the matchups for the semifinals, to be played at Southside Fitness Center on Friday of the three-day tournament at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, don’t seem predetermined.
Everyone has a chance, according to coaches and players involved.
“Every year, there’s been one or two dominant (teams) that everyone kind of knew were going to go to the championship,” Stuttgart setter Mia Snyder said. “This year, anything can happen. It’s just whoever plays the best and whoever keeps their heads in the game.”
The Panthers (9-2, 6-2) enter as the second favorites in the tournament behind Kaiserslautern (11-2, 9-2), which handed Stuttgart its lone two losses of the season.
The Raiders, meanwhile, dropped matches to the third seed, Ramstein (7-4, 6-4), and the fifth seed, Wiesbaden (7-4, 5-4) – both of which came in four sets. Kaiserslautern is riding a nine-match winning streak.
Ramstein and Wiesbaden have split the season series. Vilseck (8-4, 4-3), the fourth seed, is having a resurgent year, beating the Warriors and taking a set against the Royals during a loss on Oct. 19.
The set scores among these squads also have been relatively close, meaning a point here or there could have swung the results.
The Raiders have grown as the season’s gone along. An injury to Maree Storch, one of two freshman setters on the roster, forced coach Zac Robinson to move Briana Shields from hitter to setter. Both libero Marisa Branch and outside hitter Kezley Kai called Shields “a rock,” and they credited that move with spurring the rest of the squad.
Shields has plenty of options of where to send the ball in middle blockers Mariska Campbell and Roz Onnen and outside hitters Bianca Ocampo and Kai.
“As a libero, I’m very grateful for my middles and very grateful for my outsides,” Branch said. “It’s been great. We know that we can trust them, we know that they’re going to do their job and that they trust us that we’re going to do our job.”
Stuttgart also has plenty of weapons themselves assisted by a hitter switching to setter.
Snyder moved seamlessly to a passer after preparing during the offseason for it. The senior has plenty of options in senior outside hitter Sarah Houghton, opposite Jaylee Brown, junior middle blocker Hannah Holmes and freshman outside hitter Brooklyn Biles, among others.
“We have been strong offensively this year, which is a blessing when it’s working,” Stuttgart coach Bethany Trimble said. “It’s figuring out how my hitters can score when that swing isn’t exactly on point.”
To win the title, teams will need to navigate the round robin and then win two more over three days. It’s a test of mental and physical endurance as well as of skill, according to Trimble.
Kai, meanwhile, said for the Raiders to win their first championship since 1998, they must tap into the teamwork and tenacity that has made the team stronger than before injuries changed their style.
“I think we need to keep our grit,” Kai said. “I think our grit is really the key to what is giving us our wins. We refuse to let the ball drop without a fight.”
Naples' Emma Heavey can't get the ball over the net past the Black Forest Academy defense of Hanna Kooiman, left, and Priscilla Sivonen on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Division II
American Overseas School of Rome coach Cladio Olivieri set the goal of making the semifinals prior to the start of the season.
Following a regular season in which the Falcons didn’t lose a match until the second-to-last one against Aviano, that goal is unchanged. The major difference is the Falcons (7-1, 6-1) enter the tournament, played Thursday and Friday at Ramstein High School during the final at Southside Fitness Center, as the top seed.
The coach pointed to switch in style, as well as the play of hitter Alba Petrucci and setter Gloria Olivieri, as major reasons for the success so far.
“Our approach at the game is completely changed,” Olivieri said. “This approach made us more united and stronger than the previous seasons.”
The tournament’s second favorites are the Vicenza Cougars (12-1, 9-1), whose lone blemish occurred on Oct. 19 to AOSR.
They, too, have made a few changes, according to coach John Kohut. The Cougars have depth in all positions, something Kohut said the program’s worked on for a couple of years.
Freshman Emily Bell has slotted in at setter after playing on the Italian side for years. That allowed Maya Fitch to go back to her more natural position at outside hitter.
“I’m really surprised with how well we’ve started playing this year with a shift of players around,” Kohut said. “Once (people) see what we do with what we have, you’ll wonder, ‘How’d they do that?’
“Somewhere or another we’re well rounded in all positions, as in athletes who can play the game, and hopefully they can come through with their skills that we’ve been working on.”
Despite being favorites to vie for a title, both the Falcons and Cougars aren’t sleeping on anyone.
Vicenza has Rota and Bahrain, which pushed the Cougars to five sets on Oct. 18, in its pool, while AOSR can’t sleep on two-time defending champion Aviano and Black Forest Academy in its group.
“It goes down to good defense, good tactics and placement of the ball,” Kohut said of it will take to win the championship.
Sigonella's Nyeema Fernandez tips the ball towards the net and Aviano's Jazmyn Warren on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Division III
Ansbach has played a difficult schedule this season, getting four matches against Division I competition.
The Cougars went 1-3 against Vilseck, Stuttgart and Wiesbaden – three of the top five big-school squads – and not a single match lasted fewer than four sets.
For a team returning just four from last year’s Division III-winning squad, it was just what the players needed.
“Playing those Division I teams really helped our confidence, gave us a little swag, and gave us that aura that we can play,” Ansbach coach Deborah Keller-Mitchell said. “We just have to play our game.”
The Cougars (9-3, 8-0) enter with a great chance to earn the three-peat. Junior middle hitter and Stars and Stripes European Athlete of the Year Kennedy Lange, senior setter Natalie Ritter, junior outside Victoria Ortiz and sophomore defensive specialist Marga Marzan lead the way.
Ansbach will have to work to retain the crown. Brussels (9-3, 9-2) and Spangdahlem (8-4, 8-4) have upsets on their minds.
To keep that from happening, Keller-Mitchell said the game plan is simple.
“No peaks and valleys, we’re going to play consistent volleyball and we’re going to pass and serve like our lives depended on it,” she said. “That’s the game of volleyball right there. Get excited, be a great teammate and the scores will show.”
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