NEIL PASCOE

Bud 1's Kelly Townsend gets ready to hit return in YMCA Co-Ed Adult Volleyball League championship game. Spanky's won the title in a three-game match on Wednesday.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Latest Stories

• 35th Annual Eagle Open canceled, rescheduled for August 2
• Sickle cell trait caused death of ex-Lely football star Plancher
• Soccer camp with a British style

Share and Enjoy [?]

When two evenly-matched volleyball teams such as Bud 1 and Spanky’s went head-to-head for the YMCA Co-Ed Adult Volleyball League championship, any little edge could spell the difference.

On a cold and windy night on the outside court of the YMCA, it was Dale Rod, Spanky’s captain, who used the elements to his team’s advantage. It resulted in the team winning a best-of-three match, 25-14, 16-25, 15-10, for the championship.

“We knew going in that Bud 1 had an excellent group of servers, at least four of them, and we were very concerned about that,” Rod said. “We were also extremely aware they had lost only one game throughout the season and were kind of looking around for any kind of advantage we could find.”

Rod found it in the windy conditions by deciding to take the west end of the court, playing against the wind, in the first game. The move paid off handsomely with a 24-14.

With the wind against them, Bud 1 came roaring back, winning 25-16, tying the match at 1-1.

“Going into that second game with the wind at our backs was definitely a negative as far as controlling the ball,” Rod said. “Every time we’d serve the wind would grab hold of the ball and send it out over the back line and we’d lose a point to Bud 1.”

When the team captains met at center court for the crucial third-game coin flip, Rod knew exactly what he wanted and that was the west court once again.

When Bud 1 captain Monica Buddemeyer called heads and it came up tails, Rod chose again to play against the wind. Even with the advantage the game see-sawed, with the score tied at 9-9, when some pin-point volleying, and accurate serves, saw Spanky’s reel off six of the game’s next seven points for the 15-10 win.

“It definitely was an exciting match and I’m very proud of my whole team, especially my servers,” said Buddemeyer after the match. “It might have been a little easier to volley if it hadn’t have been so chilly. It also made the ball very hard and stung a little bit when you hit it.”

Another advantage favoring Spanky’s, 9-3 on the season, was its height, with 6’6” Sam Steele, 6’3” Rod, and 6’2” Chris Broxson.

Members of the Spikers included Rod, Cory Banister, Robert Reining, Ross Broxson, Gloria Rengifo, Mara Vail, Alicia Gonzalez, Lora Steele, and Heidi Moss Boxson.

Bud 1, 9-2 on the season, was comprised of Monica and Mike Buddemeyer, Rich and Kelly Townsend, Linda and Tom Dunn, Lisa Penzo, Nina Lane, and Bill Pagoni.