{"id":281675,"date":"2024-09-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=281675"},"modified":"2024-09-17T20:49:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T20:49:55","slug":"army-volleyball-teams-sweep-armed-forces-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=281675","title":{"rendered":"Army volleyball teams sweep Armed Forces titles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Spc. Asaleti Telea, a right side hitter on the All-Army men’s volleyball team, unleashes a spike against the All-Air Force team, during Army’s 3-1 victory on Sept. 12 at Fort Carson, Co. With the win, Army clinched the 2024 Armed Forces Volleyball Tournament championship after defeating Air Force 26-24, 21-25, 25-14 and 26-24.
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado \u2014 The All-Army men\u2019s volleyball players slapped high fives and jumped in celebration on the\u00a0court Sept. 12 after winning the Armed Force Volleyball tournament title. One day later, the All-Army women\u2019s team clinched its first Armed Force\u2019s Volleyball tournament title in nine years at Fort Carson.<\/p>\n

The Army last swept both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s divisions in 2014 at the USA Nationals Volleyball tournament in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

All-Armed Forces sports hosted the volleyball tournament for the first time since 2019 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the tourney into an indefinite hold.<\/p>\n

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\n Army Libero Ileanushka Maldonado, a sergeant stationed in San Juan Puerto Rico, returns a ball during Army’s match with Air Force on Sept. 13, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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Army men\u2019s volleyball cruises<\/strong><\/p>\n

During one pivotal point in the All-Army men\u2019s team\u2019s Sept. 12 match with Air Force, Army Sgt. Michael Tuimavave powered a thunderous strike to the tile. The 6-foot-4 inch outside hitter, stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, strutted back playing to the crowd as fellow Army players cheered on.<\/p>\n

The score put Army up 24-12 in the third set on the second day of the 2024 All Armed Forces Volleyball tournament.<\/p>\n

Spc. Francisco Bautista-Santa, a 6-3 middle blocker from Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, closed out the set with kill at the net to put Army up 2-1 over Air Force. Army (5-1) then took the final set in dramatic fashion. Right outside hitter Asaleti Telea fired a spike through the Air Force defense to put Army up 25-24. The contest ended on an Air Force penalty.<\/p>\n

With Army\u2019s fourth straight triumph, a 3-1 win over Air Force, the Soldiers earned enough victories to be crowned tournament champion on the second day of the three-day tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really blessed to be part of this team,\u201d said Telea, a specialist stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. \u201cIt means a lot to me playing along with my brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Sgt. Michael Tuimavave of Schofield Barracks. Hawaii, returns a ball during the 2024 Armed Forces Volleyball Tournament in Fort Carson, Co. on Sept. 11, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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Tuimavave, setter Julio Andino, 6-6 middle blocker Gabriel Misilagi, and outside hitters Telea and Sgt. Joe Ulrich (Yokota Air Base, Japan) all contributed points in the final set.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross the board everyone is great,\u201d said Misilagi, a sergeant assigned to Fort Irwin, California. \u201cAll 12 of us, we all put in the work, and the talent level was sky high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although only a few dozen spouses, family and supporters sat inside Fort Carson\u2019s William Reed Special Events Center, the Armed Forces Volleyball players created a raucous atmosphere.<\/p>\n

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\n Members of the All-Army men’s volleyball team celebrate their 3-1 win over the All-Air Force Team on Sept. 12, 2024 at Fort Carson, Co.
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Andino, a Soldier from Puerto Rico, acted as the team\u2019s only true setter throughout the tournament playing long minutes. The commander of the team\u2019s second setter called that player back to duty days before the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther than running the court and being exhausted, he is also the psychologist,\u201d Army coach, Sgt. 1st Class Jaime Gonzalez, said. \u201cHe\u2019s got to talk to [the players] and make sure they\u2019re in the right place so that we could actually have a clean set.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez said he originally cut 21-year-old Telea from the roster due to inexperience. But the coach changed his mind and Telea responded by making critical kills during the tournament from the right side.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the surprise of the tournament,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n

Tuimavave, the team\u2019s captain and kills leader, also contributed aces when his team needed him throughout the tourney.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God that I have him on my team,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cHe did a lot of things that we needed, and he terminated a lot of plays that we needed.<\/p>\n

The Army\u2019s 12 players began training camp at Fort Carson on Aug. 22 and practiced two to three times a day for three weeks, while also having gym workout sessions. They built camaraderie with team dinners and taking visits to a nearby lake.<\/p>\n

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\n Capt. Sydney Morriss, a right side hitter on the All-Army women’s volleyball team, tips the ball over the net during Army’s match with the All-Air Force team on Sept. 13. The All-Army women’s team won its first Armed Forces tournament title since 2015 by defeating Air Force 3-1. <\/p>\n

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Army women\u2019s volleyball team returns to prominence<\/strong><\/p>\n

The All-Army women\u2019s volleyball team boasted perhaps its most talented roster in years. But talent alone didn\u2019t carry the Soldiers to the 2024 Armed Forces Volleyball tournament title, said Coach Tatiana Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some leadership that stepped up at the right time and made the right decisions and on the court and they supported each other,\u201d said Brown, a sergeant first class stationed at Hunter Army Airfield. \u201cThat\u2019s what made the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Army (4-2) outlasted the last All Armed Forces champion Air Force, 3-1 to clinch first place.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 13, the Soldiers won the first two sets against Air Force 25-16 and 25-16 behind the hitting of 1st Lt. Monica Eckford and Staff Sgt. Salaia Marshall and the blocking of Capt. Sydney Morriss and 1st Lt. Bryce Quick. Quick, a Soldier assigned to Poznan, Poland, made a block to win the first set.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played as a team, and we were really connecting,\u201d said Morriss, a 6-0 right side hitter from Camp Darby, Italy. \u201cWhenever we had energy and were working as a team, we were on fire.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Setter Hannah Presley keyed the Soldiers\u2019 victory with sharp passes to Army hitters and also kept the Air Force defense honest with four successful dump plays that caught the Airmen off guard. One dump in the second set, landed in a weak spot along the back baseline, five feet from the nearest Airman.<\/p>\n

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\n All-Army women’s volleyball players celebrate winning the 2024 Armed Forces Volleyball tournament with a 3-1 victory over Air Force on Sept. 13, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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\u201cShe makes those crucial saves with setting the ball to the right people at the right time,\u201d Brown said of the first lieutenant stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas. \u201cShe knows her hitters so well that when\u00a0it gets close and we\u2019re down, she knows where to put the ball and make those great decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sept. 12, Army dropped a five-set loss to runner up Navy (3-3). After starting the match 2-0. Navy rallied to win the last three sets. Following that contest, Army bounced back to defeat Air Force on Sept. 12 in straight sets and then beat the Airmen again on Sept. 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were humbled real quick,\u201d Morriss said of the Navy loss. \u201cIt put some fire under us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside hitter\/setter Julymar Otero, a specialist stationed in Ponce, Puerto Rico, contributed clutch kills from the left side when the team needed offense, hitting several shots through the outstretched arms of defenders. Libero Ileanushka Maldonado, a sergeant stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, made crucial digs off the Air Force hitters and throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have a lot of talent on this team from the [defensive specialists] to the hitters to the setters,\u201d Morriss said. \u201cWe had a stacked bench. No matter who went on the court, I think everyone was going to do the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown praised Morriss\u2019 defense of Air Force outside hitter Brookelyn Messenger on Sept. 13, the Airmen\u2019s most talented hitter. Morriss recorded successful blocks against Messenger.<\/p>\n

\u201cSydney just found her swing and she gets very high over that block and she blocks so well,\u201d Brown said. \u201cShe pretty much shut down [Messenger].\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall joined the All-Army team for her seventh and likely last season in 2024. During her first years with the program, the Army took first at the Armed Forces tournament in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Marshall has also made the Armed Forces women\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we made a statement,\u201d said Marshall, an active Army reservist stationed at Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. \u201cThis year we had a great group of women. We\u2019re back. I\u2019m so emotional right now because it\u2019s been a long time. Nine years waiting to win gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED LINKS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

U.S. Armed Forces Sports<\/a><\/p>\n

Army News Service<\/a><\/p>\n

ARNEWS archives<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spc. Asaleti Telea, a right side hitter on the All-Army men’s volleyball team, unleashes a spike against the All-Air Force team, during Army’s 3-1 victory on Sept. 12 at Fort Carson, Co. With the win, Army clinched the 2024 Armed Forces Volleyball Tournament championship after defeating Air Force 26-24, 21-25, 25-14 and 26-24. (Photo Credit: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281677,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281675"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281684,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281675\/revisions\/281684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/281677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}