Photo By Sgt. Jamill Ford | Team Army and fans cheer as the celebrate their sitting volleyball win against Team...... read more read more
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By John M. Rosenberg
Warrior Transition Command
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — Excitement and emotion carried the day at Butler Gym as Team Army avenged its Thursday night loss to the Marine Corps volleyball team, winning an action-packed elimination game in three sets. Carrying the third set by a score of 15-8, Army advances to the gold medal round in Sunday action.
Before a raucous gymnasium, the Marines jumped out front by six points when Army coach Uros Davidovic called for a time out. Behind the skillful serving of Staff Sgt. Patrick Timmins, infantryman from Columbiana, Alabama, Team Army rattled off eight unanswered points to take the lead.
As the lead went back and forth during the middle of the set, Staff Sgt. Monica Southall, an automated logistics specialist from Suffolk, Virginia turned from the net and motioned for the rest of her team to settle down.
Up by three and sitting at 22 points, Army’s Nick Titman, of Damascus, Virginia, faced the Army bleachers and incited the crowd to make some noise. With its ace server, Southall, in position, Team Army found itself within one point of taking the first set. The next serve by the Marine Corps went wide left and Army took an early lead in the best-of-three set competition.
In the second set the Marines again leaped to an early lead. However, instead of closing the gap, Team Army, their emotions still running high after their initial win, may have fallen flat.
Down 21-7, a brief rally by Army that was too little and too late made the final score 25-13, setting the stage for an unforgettable third and final set.
When the buzzer sounded, and with ace server Southall in position Army, pushed the pace in taking an early lead. Unlike the previous two rounds of play, the third and final set was tight from the start.
Titman, playing with deep purpose, made a spectacular kill at the net that put Army in the driver’s seat at 8-6 in the 15-point must win situation.
With the importance of each and every shot magnified tenfold, Army went up 10-7 as a highly animated Sgt. Sean Hook of Tyrone, Pennsylvania brought the Army grandstands to its feet. During a Marine Corps timeout Army Volleyball Coach Davidovic spurred the team to maintain its intensity.
Finally, with Staff Sgt. Randi Gavell, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, serving, Army set up the final attack. One point away from advancing to the gold medal round a dramatic spike by Veteran Staff Sgt. Alexander Shaw, from Baltimore and a fixture at the net throughout the Warrior Games for Army, secured final victory.
On Sunday Team Army, already leading in the overall medal count, will try to win gold in volleyball against Team Air Force, whom they defeated in two sets on Thursday.
After prevailing against the Marine Corps in a match that was without a doubt the most exciting thus far in the 2015 sitting volleyball competition, a highly reflective and visibly moved Coach Davidovic said “Win or lose, we have to walk off the floor proud. Sports can be defined at times by its moments of glory, and hopefully that glory will continue tomorrow.”
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.28.2015 14:38 |
| Story ID: | 168424 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VA, US |
| Hometown: | BALTIMORE, MD, US |
| Hometown: | DAMASCUS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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