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Brigantia O'Sadnick is one of three returning starters for the defending Division I champion Wiesbaden Warriors.

Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes

Brigantia O'Sadnick is one of three returning starters for the defending Division I champion Wiesbaden Warriors. Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Brigantia O'Sadnick is one of three returning starters for the defending Division I champion Wiesbaden Warriors.

Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes

Brigantia O'Sadnick is one of three returning starters for the defending Division I champion Wiesbaden Warriors. Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Ellen Tafyoa, a second-team All-Europe selection last year as a junior, awaits serve with other members of the Wiesbaden Warriors during a recent practice. Wiesbaden will try to defend the Division I title it earned last year.

Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes

Ellen Tafyoa, a second-team All-Europe selection last year as a junior, awaits serve with other members of the Wiesbaden Warriors during a recent practice. Wiesbaden will try to defend the Division I title it earned last year. Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

The divisional realignment of DODDS-Europe volleyball was an unmitigated ace. Now comes the follow-up serve.

The 2015 DODDS-Europe girls volleyball season begins Saturday with 22 teams competing across seven sites in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Italy.

Last fall’s drastic shake-up bumping up former Division II powers Naples, Vicenza and SHAPE to the Division I ranks had its desired impact. Naples and Vicenza proved to be every bit as competitive in the large-school pool as they were on the middle tier, with Naples pushing Wiesbaden to five hard-fought sets in the championship match and Vicenza besting Ramstein for third place. Meanwhile, the newly-streamlined Division II bracket produced some fresh contenders as Rota outlasted Aviano, Bitburg and Hohenfels for the crown.

Expect those storylines to develop further this fall, as the vindicated Italian squads look to wrest the title from Germany, members of the tightly-packed Division II field seek to separate themselves and Division III entries scrap it out for the small-school crown.

While the Division I ranks are locked in, DODDS-Europe athletic director Karen Seadore said Thursday, some divisional movement between teams close to the threshold between Division II and III is possible even after the season starts. As the teams’ schedules are based primarily on geography rather than school size – and the fact that every DODDS-Europe team will participate in the European championships set for Nov. 5 through 7 at Kaiserslautern Military Community – that decision can wait until closer to the postseason.

Division I Change is inevitable in DODDS-Europe. But consistency is still an achievable goal.

That’s what Wiesbaden coach Linnea Velsvaag is aiming for as she prepares a revamped Warrior squad for its title defense.

“Last year’s championship games were a testament to the power of believing in and trusting each other,” Velsvaag said. “You can already see the chemistry and harmony within the team.”

While the roster is filled with new players, including several call-ups from the school’s successful junior varsity program, Velsvaag does have a trio of seasoned starters back in Ellen Tafoya, Brigantia O’Sadnick and Melanie Hirschel-Weber.

That experience will be needed to fend off another challenge from Naples, which dropped a 19-25, 25-11, 25-14, 23-25, 16-14 decision in last year’s classic Division I final.

The Wildcats return seven key players, including one of Europe’s standouts in junior libero Sierra Dye, and coaches Kenny and Julia Byler declare the team’s simple goal this season is “to win the championship” that narrowly eluded the school last fall.

Ramstein, meanwhile, is intent on restarting the championship run Wiesbaden ended in 2014. Returning stars such as Brittany Highley, Denee Lawrence and Montgomery Sauter give the Royals a solid chance at returning to the season’s final match.

Returning semifinalist Vicenza will look to plant further stakes in the Division I title scene, while tenured Division I programs Stuttgart (formerly Patch), Kaiserslautern, Lakenheath and Vilseck will attempt to reclaim the ground lost to the new Italian entries.

Division II A former Division III dynasty, Rota took advantage of the reshuffled deck to seize the Division II title last fall. Head coach Melinda Luna has five players back from that squad, including seniors Janae Curtice, Talia Pekari and Emily Quan.

Runner-up Aviano and semifinalist Hohenfels figure to be centrally involved in the title chase again, but it might be 2014 third-place finisher Bitburg that represents the biggest threat to Rota’s new reign. The Barons are stacked with size and skill, with experienced hitters in seniors Victoria Porras and Challie Lillemon and junior Elise Rasmussen playing well above net level. Returning Bitburg coach Eric Vining said this year’s squad appears “stronger than any team I’ve coached at this point in the season,” and added that the team will benefit from a regional schedule heavy on Division I competition.

Division III DODDS-Europe’s smallest and most geographically diverse division is also its most unpredictable.

Rota’s dynasty ended in 2012, and since then six different schools have reached the Division III semifinals. Two rival Italian programs claimed those titles, with Sigonella winning in 2013 and Florence winning last season. Those two, along with persistent contender Brussels and a strong returning group from Alconbury, figure to set the standard for Division III this fall.

That’s assuming, of course, that they’re all playing in Division III come November.

Boys In DODDS-Europe, boys volleyball is played only in the Mediterranean. And in recent years, titles are won only in Rome.

American Overseas School of Rome enters the 2015 campaign chasing a fourth straight championship. Tommaso Ruben Semprini, Francesco Gristina and Tommy Genovali form the core of an experienced, title-tested squad set on extending their reign.

Sigonella gave AOSR a worthy challenge in last year’s 26-24, 25-19, 25-19 title-match loss. Semifinalists Naples, which went 11-0 in the 2014 regular season, and Aviano should also be heard from in the tournament, as will out-of-region visitors from Bahrain, Black Forest Academy and Incirlik.

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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