FORT BENNING, Ga., (April 23, 2014) -- The 11th Engineer Battalion set the tone of the game from the start when Drew Pelesasa blocked a spike by Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation during the Commander's Cup Volleyball Championship Wednesday at Smith Fitness Center. The Engineers won 21-12 and 21-13.
Coach George Ruiz from 11th Engineers attributed their win to the team's strong defense, which managed to block several spikes by WHINSEC's team captain Luis Caraballo and Juan Carlos Gustavo.
During Set 1, WHINSEC tied the score at 8-8 until the 11th Engineer Battalion had a four-point run under the serve of Masua Tupai, who also made several kills during the game. WHINSEC faltered against the Engineer's defense, despite a strong offense. The Engineer's won the first set 21-12.
Ruiz said his three big hitters were always positioned so they were at the front lines and helped keep WHINSEC from scoring on spike attempts.
"When the guys are blocking, we did a lot of covering," he said. "That was probably our best strength in the entire (game)."
The Engineers were stronger on offense during the second set and continued to dominate the game. The team took an eight-point lead and WHINSEC was unable to recover, giving the last winning point to the 11th Engineer Battalion because of a communication error. The Engineers won the second set 21-13.
The 11th Engineers swept through the championship aggressively, having learned from previous mistakes, Ruiz said.
"We had made a lot of (errors), so we gave away a lot of points," he said. "This time, we focused on hitting the ball in play and then focusing on our defense to make sure we got all the points. Let them make all of the mistakes and not us."
Although WHINSEC lost the game, Caraballo said the team was glad to have played.
"We are very satisfied that we made it to the finals, (it was) more than we expected," he said. "We played back-to-back games. We played two very good teams - the best two teams in the whole league."
3rd Infantry Division lost to WHINSEC during the game before the championship.
Ruiz said his team did a really good job because of teamwork.
"The 11th Engineers prevailed and that's all that counts for us," he said.
Social Sharing