Air Force volleyball teams take gold at armed forces championships

By Maj. Belinda Petersen
Air Force Services Agency Public Affairs

June 7, 2010 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – The Air Force men’s and women’s volleyball teams won gold medals at the Armed Forces Volleyball Championship May 11 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

The Air Force men’s team went 5-1 to repeat as champions. It was the men’s third armed forces title in the past four years and their fourth in the past six years. The Air Force men’s team finished with silver medals in 2006 and 2008.

New events to this year’s championship were the addition of men and women’s beach doubles competition. Staff Sgt. David Dean and Senior Airman TJ Read became the first Air Force beach players to win a medal as they took silver in the first-ever Armed Forces Beach Competition.

“We started off with our smallest number of athletes at camp in the past 30 years due to deployments and other conflicts,” said Dale Grupe, Air Force men’s coach who has been a part of this program since 1989.

“That coupled with the requirement of not just putting together an indoor team, but also outdoor beach teams, added to our challenges,” he said. “All 13 players on the roster played a role in this year’s championship and made significant contributions at different times during the tournament.”

The men’s team setter, Senior Airman Derek Burlzoff, ran the offense superbly despite spraining his ankle in the first week of camp.

The offense had several hitting options thanks to the consistent passing of Capt. Keola Lacar, Maj. Tom Klemas, and Staff Sgt. Tipton Street. Airman Read was a lethal weapon hitting out of the back row.

Air Force lost to the Navy in the first round but ran the table after that to finish the tournament. It was not an easy road with close games against Navy and Army along the way culminating with a 15-12 victory over Army in the fifth set of the last match of the tournament to clinch the championship.

“That initial loss to the Navy was tough because we lost big leads in two of the sets and doing that can shake the confidence of a team,” said Coach Grupe. “It was great to see how this team rebounded from that early setback to win many close sets and matches down the stretch.”

During the women’s tourney, the Air Force squad went 5-1. It was their first armed forces title since 2007. The Air Force women’s team has won a gold or silver medal each year since 2001.

The women’s team also lost to the Navy early on which forced them to change their substitution strategy to allow both setters to set only from the back row. It resulted in more attacks from the Air Force front row players as well as a better blocking team which made a difference during the last Navy match and both Army matches.

“There were a lot of great outside hitters at the tournament, but our own 2nd Lt. Morgan Dolan and Capt. Molly Stowers stood out throughout the games. They passed the majority of the opponent’s serves and to do that successfully for an entire tournament is a skill that really is underappreciated,” said Maj. John Napier, coach for the women’s team.

“Our middles, 1st Lt. Lindsay Bengard and 1st Lt. Haley Homan, dominated the net in both blocking and attacking,” he said. “It was fun watching them take charge of the matches. And to have middle hitters also be part of serve receive is an absolute luxury that most coaches don’t have.”

“I’m really proud of how hard this team worked through the camp and the tournament,” Coach Napier said.

Captain Stowers, Captain Lacar, Lieutenant Bengard, and Airman Read were named to the 2010 Armed Forces Volleyball All-Star team.

“The tournament was pretty well-balanced this year, and some very solid athletes from each service raised the level of competition. I feel honored to be chosen for the all-tournament team, but above all I’m thrilled the Air Force women and men brought home the gold. Working hard during camp and creating a line-up that worked with each player’s strengths made the win worth even more to each member of our team,” said Lieutenant Bengard from Kadena Air Base, Japan.