Aviano’s Sean Outing taps the ball over a pair of American Overseas School of Rome defenders Saturday during the final of the Mediterranean volleyball championships. AOSR won in five games. (Kent Harris/S&S)
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy— It was a day to remember for a pair of seniors from American Overseas School of Rome.
Gabriele Fabozzi and Sage Rahm spent four hours taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test, then joined the title game of the DODDS Mediterranean Boys Volleyball Tournament in progress.
Playing without warming up, they helped their team win the championship — and remain unbeaten on the season — by defeating Aviano 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11.
"They’re very important," AOSR coach Andrea Desideri said of the pair with a bit of understatement.
Top-seeded AOSR started the finals with the minimum six players and two of its best players not in the gym. The finals were delayed an hour to allow the two players to participate.
Fabozzi, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, entered the first game with his team down, 7-6. Rahm, also named to the all-tournament team, entered on the next point. They weren’t enough to stop Aviano from winning the opening game, thanks to seven straight points midway through that gave the Saints a big cushion.
Aviano had suffered its only loss of the season to AOSR and was the tournament’s No. 2 seed. The Saints looked like they might be on the way to an upset and took a 20-18 lead in the second game. But five straight errors gave AOSR the lead and eventually the game.
"This game is one of momentum," said Aviano coach Lou Lucidi. "We had the momentum and we lost it."
The Saints also lost the third game, despite holding an 18-16 lead at one point. A few thunderous spikes by Fabozzi and Aviano errors made the difference.
But Aviano bounced back in the fourth game, taking a 13-2 advantage before holding off AOSR. Senior Tyler Leahy had several key kills.
AOSR, which trailed early in each of the first four games, led 6-1 in the decisive game before the Saints came back. Aviano came within 11-10, but AOSR reeled off four of the last five points to win the game and the match.
It’s the second straight year that the Saints lost in the finals. Last year, Milan gave Aviano its first loss of the year in the championship. This year, Milan took third with a 25-18, 25-15, 26-24 victory over Marymount.
