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***image1***Basketball players were uprooted from their usual afternoon pick-up games at the Southside Fitness Center Saturday and Sunday as Ramstein hosted its first volleyball tournament in four years.
Six women’s teams and three men’s teams participated in the Ramstein Invitational Volleyball Tournament or “Ram Bam 2005” playing all day on the two courts.
Base-level teams from Stuttgart, Spangdahlem, Heidelberg, and two from Ramstein competed in the women’s league. Another team, named Gemischt meaning mixed in German, was made of local players including former Ramstein base-level players and three students from Ramstein American High School.
Saturday was pool play where women’s teams played those in their bracket for seeding purposes. Gemischt and Ramstein A both were undefeated going into the double elimination tournament Sunday. Ramstein A knocked Gemischt down to the loser’s bracket after their first match-up. After beating Stuttgart in the semifinals, Gemischt took the rematch, beating Ramstein A twice to win the tournament.
“After losing the first game, we regrouped and adjusted our line-up,” said Gemischt hitter Shanon Bryant. “Both teams were tired, but we had a lot of experienced players – and that made the difference.”
In the men’s league, Ramstein, Spangdahlem and another Gemischt team duked it out in a double round robin tournament Saturday and a double elimination Sunday. With only three teams, the men got used to playing each other, but the championship was still up for grabs. After losing the first game in the championships, Ramstein beat Gemischt. The score of the third game was a close 15-13.
All-tournament MVPs were Lani Kekahuna, setter for the Ramstein A women, and Bobby Caldwell, middle blocker for the Ramstein men.
It was the first volleyball tournament hosted by the Ramstein teams since 2001. Ramstein players were excited to bring the sport to their home court, get some preseason games in and raise money for their upcoming season.
