SHAPE's Jessica Moon keeps a point alive for her team Satuday in a match against the host Lakenheath Lancers. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
RAF LAKENHEATH, England – The Lakenheath boys still haven’t lost this season. The SHAPE girls got their first Division I win. And there was plenty of other volleyball action as well Saturday at the home of the 48th Fighter Wing.
The Lancer boys improved to 3-0 with a 25-22, 25-13, 25-9 victory over Vilseck. Lakenheath has also beaten Ramstein and SHAPE, but both of those teams are under provisional status and the games don’t officially count.
“As a unit, these boys have been together for a very long time and you can see that on the court,” Lancer boys’ coach Dennis Ullery said.
The main difference between Lakenheath and Vilseck on Saturday seemed to be consistency.
When Vilseck executed properly, its offense was hard to defend against. However, the Lancers were able to consistently deny the Falcons any sustained momentum.
Cristian Chavira was a prime example on defense with numerous full-extension digs throughout the weekend to keep the ball in the play for his team.
Lakenheath's Rylen Pontemayor jumps and goes for a spike against the Vilseck Falcons' defense on Saturday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
The Lakenheath Lancers' girls' volleyball team celebrates after winning a point after a long rally against the SHAPE Spartans on Saturday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck’s Malachi Inniger serves the ball against the Lakenheath Lancers on Saturday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
Lakenheath's Cristian Chavira dives forward and digs the ball extending the play for his team. The Lancers' boys' volleyball team is undefeated going into the final week of the 2023 season. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
The Spartan girls entered the weekend with only a single victory and none against fellow big schools. That changed with a 25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 12-25, 15-9 victory over Vilseck. Then SHAPE gave Lakenheath a test before the Lancers prevailed 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21.
“It feels pretty amazing to see the girls play today, they’ve have been working very hard,” SHAPE coach Kate Maxson said. “We tried some new lineups today and they executed very well.”
Former Lancer Jessica Moon led an offense that seemed to sometimes surprise the Lancers, though they came out on top in three of the four sets. Moon finished with 18 kills and also starred on defense.
Lakenheath countered with the play of A’Lydia McNeal, Olivia Bouchard and Arianna Christian, who were at the center of a lot of the action. The combination of McNeal defending against spikes, the consistent setting from Bouchard and the energy and consistency of Christian lead the Lancers to victory.
The girls teams are likely to meet up again at the European championships in the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany from Oct. 26-28. The boys teams gather during the same period in Vicenza, Italy.
