When the 2014 DODDS-Europe girls volleyball season begins Saturday, it will do so without a clear view of its endgame.

DODDS-Europe athletic director Karen Seadore said this week that the organization is still involved in an ongoing “discussion” of how it will align its teams into divisions for the European tournament, adding that “a final decision has not been made on any movement of schools.”

DODDS-Europe uses the divisional system to ensure teams compete for championships against schools of comparable size. This year’s tournament is set for Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Kaiserslautern Military Community.

Eventual realignment could take a lot of forms, and it’s possible DODDS-Europe will settle on retaining the existing three-division arrangement. But that structure has grown increasingly untenable as the Division II ranks have swelled.

Former Division III powers Rota and Alconbury moved up to Division II last year; the resulting 15-team Division II championship bracket was more crowded than the six-team Division I and eight-team Division III brackets combined. Bamberg has since closed and Lajes isn’t fielding a team this year, making last year’s D-III bracket even smaller.

The solution could involve shifting larger Division II teams, including defending Division II champion Naples, to Division I as part of an effort to evenly split the field into more workable brackets.

While DODDS-Europe sorts out their eventual postseason, however, teams across the continent are left to focus on the regular-season schedules in front of them.

As the reigning Division I champion, Ramstein will be a challenge for any team it encounters. The Royals count All-Europe standouts Chera Jensen and Natalie Sell among five returning varsity players, and head coach Erin Markus expressed optimism of players flowing into the roster from its strong JV program and transfers.

But work remains for the Royals. The team will field just three seniors; it may take a sizeable chunk of the regular season to shuffle its new talent into an ideal mix. Other large schools across DODDS-Europe are dealing with similar challenges.

A new era is under way in Lakenheath, where the 2013 runner-up Lancers are rebuilding without longtime cornerstone and DODDS-Europe girls Athlete of the Year Jourdan Hodge. Incumbent starters Jade Julien, Shannon Cox and Kayla Langster will lead the effort.

Patch, another strong Division I contender last year, returns five varsity players and has just two seniors on the team. Libero Janey Greenberg and setter Kaela Lynch will form the core of the new-look Panthers.

Other big schools, meanwhile, are hoping relative continuity will give them an edge.

Vilseck has seven varsity players back and five more moving up from junior varsity; coach Brian Swenty said his Falcons will benefit from “players who understand our system.” Sophomores Amanda Seay and Mohagony Lediju will team with senior Amira Murray to headline a versatile Vilseck group that might be primed for a strong postseason run. Wiesbaden coach Linnea Velsvaag reports similar optimism with six varsity returnees, including All-Europe middle blocker Ellen Tafoya, and a favorable summer of roster turnover.

Defending Division II champion Naples, meanwhile, is working under the assumption that they’ll be boosted to the Division I ranks. Coach Julia Byler said her team is “embracing this challenge” and hopes to prove itself as “a respectable competitor.” Though the Wildcats’ losses are substantial, they’ll move on with six returnees, including All-Europe senior Aundrea Hall, and a promising group of reinforcements.

Regardless of where they land in the prospective divisional shuffle, Naples will find plenty of competition in its own country. Last year’s runner-up, American Overseas School of Rome, started its school year later than its DODDS-Europe counterparts and won’t debut until Sept. 20, but history suggests the Falcons will be formidable. Vicenza has six players back from its semifinalist team.

Count SHAPE among other 2013 Division II teams that might be in for a tougher road to a championship match. But also count SHAPE among teams with the talent to respond effectively. The Spartans have eight returnees and a program robust enough to support a junior varsity unit with which to produce subsequent waves of varsity contributors.

While some established Division II teams may be bumped up a level, Division III elites like Sigonella and Brussels might also find themselves swimming in larger ponds.

Sigonella beat out Brussels for the title last year, but returns only powerful All-Europe hitter Sydney Moore from that squad. Brussels has a bit more experience in seniors Sarah Mobley and Lola Helbling, though the Brigands took major losses of their own over the offseason.

Boys: There’s no such uncertainty about alignment at the boys level, where Black Forest Academy will join the eventual championship field among Italian schools AOSR, Aviano, Marymount, Naples, Vicenza and Sigonella and Turkish entries Ankara and Incirlik.

Defending champion AOSR is again a favorite alongside runner-up Incirlik, semifinalists Naples and Vicenza and wild-card BFA.

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

Migrated