FORT BENNING, Ga., (April 15, 2015) -- 203rd Brigade Support Battalion faced off against Medical Department Activity in the Commander's Cup Preseason Volleyball Tournament April 8 and won the championship title at Smith Fitness Center.
The two teams dueled for last year's Commander's Cup title, with 203rd taking the victory.
203rd romped their way through the winner's bracket of the double elimination tournament to beat MEDDAC in two sets 21-7 and 21-19.
Nathan Vaitautolu, 203rd coach said they made it through the preseason tournament with determination and hard work.
In the first set, MEDDAC led with the serve, but wasn't able to get into a flow, which 203rd capitalized on.
In mid-set with 203rd in the lead 11-5, MEDDAC called a timeout in hope of turning the game around.
"(The timeout was called) to remember we are supposed to have fun," said Alicia Manthe, MEDDAC coach. "(I told them) to keep your hands closed, talk to each other - pretty much the basics you forget when you are playing."
MEDDAC failed to regain their footing as 203rd closed out the first-set win with an eight-point run under the serve of Faamagalo Potasi's to round out the score 21-7.
Manthe said 203rd's spiking was the biggest hurtle.
"Their spiking is really good," she said. "It was a matter of getting under their spikes and really digging it and getting it to stay in bounds."
Vaitautolu said his team picked up on MEDDAC's weaknesses and exploited them.
"We can easily pick up on the other team's mistakes, ..." he said. "They (weren't) doing a good job of blocking the spikes, ... passing the ball well or returning it that good."
However, Vaitautolu said, his team was guilty of mistakes too, especially in the second set.
In the first half of the second set, 203rd dominated the floor with a Christopher Nair four-point service run and an Ilalio Sope three-point run to lead 10-4.
MEDDAC's Robert Whealton's five-point run and Christopher Page's four-point run, closed the gap at 20-19 with MEDDAC trailing.
"I think they got pumped up ... thinking we could (push the match into a third set) and win the preseason (tournament)," Manthe said.
Vaitautolu said this is where 203rd's mistakes came into play - with players being distracted.
"Sometimes I will catch one of our players watching our other player going for the ball or about to make a play ... and get mesmerized (so to speak) or distracted to where if the ball comes toward them, then they have a slow reaction," he said. "It's like daydreaming pretty much. I kept telling them 'pay attention.'"
He said he didn't see a need for a timeout and knew they were going to get out of the funk they were in.
After rallying on Page's last serve with MEDDAC's inability to score, 203rd sealed the Preseason championship title win 21-19.
Manthe said MEDDAC will focus more on communication for the upcoming season.
Vaitautolu said his player's experience with the game is what helped maximum execution.
"Most of these guys on the team have been playing volleyball since before they joined the Army," he said. "They know the game."
Social Sharing