Normally, the teams at the top of the standings get rewarded in the postseason for their play during the regular season.

One look at the boys volleyball South division qualifying tournament at Naples shows that’s not always the case, though.

The top three teams in the standings — Bahrain, Rota and Naples — will duke it out on Friday and Saturday for two spots at next week’s European tournament in Vicenza.

The three squads’ combined record is 22-3.

“There’s going to be a team that probably should be up at Euros that’s not going to get that spot. That’s going to be disappointing for one of the teams,” Bahrain boys coach Joshua Dinkler said. “Unfortunately, that’s the way it worked out this year.”

DODEA-Europe has implemented qualifying tournaments for boys and girls volleyball. For decades, all teams have come together in the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany or Vicenza in Italy for a three-day carnival of the sport.

The girls tournaments on Friday and Saturday are:

• In Division I, Ramstein hosts Lakenheath, SHAPE and Wiesbaden; Vilseck welcomes Kaiserslautern and Stuttgart.

• In Division II, Bahrain, Sigonella, Rota and American Overseas School of Rome head to Naples; Vicenza will hold the competition for Marymount, Aviano and Black Forest Academy.

• In Division III, Hohenfels, Ansbach, Baumholder and Spangdahlem will square off in the Sentinels’ home gym; Brussels sees AFNORTH and Alconbury come to town.

For the boys:

• In the North, Lakenheath and SHAPE travel to Ramstein; Vilseck hosts Stuttgart and Hohenfels.

• In the South, Naples has the same schools as the girls; Vicenza will see the same as the girls except for Marymount.

Two teams from each tournament will advance to their respective European championships next week either in the KMC or Vicenza.

While most states have similar setups with teams working their ways through sectionals, districts, regionals, etc. before making it to the state level, not everybody’s a fan of that approach.

Vilseck coach Brian Swenty said all three teams at the tournament his school is hosting would normally expect to contend in the championships. But only two of the Falcons, top-seed Panthers or Raiders, who dropped from first to fifth on the last weekend of the regular season, will advance.

“That pressure is cool in some ways because it simulates the sectionals in the States and that kind of thing, but it’s just disappointing that the change in the format is going to leave somebody out,” Swenty said.

All teams will play in a round-robin format against each other in three full sets. The teams with the highest number of set victories advance.

Multiple coaches described the mentality as “every point counts.” Teams such as Stuttgart (7-3, 5-2) have tried preparing for this format since the rules were announced.

“A big focus for us the last few weeks in general have been on controlling our unforced errors and making sure if we’re giving up points, they’re earned points from the other team and not off of our mistakes,” Panther coach Bethany Trimble said.

Despite the jeopardy nature of the tournaments, all coaches interviewed expressed the belief they will escape the disappointment of their seasons ending early.

Swenty said the Falcons (7-4, 7-4) must contend with the height of Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern (5-3, 5-3), the latter of which boasts 6-foot-4 freshman Kaya Young, who has been selected for a youth German national team.

Trimble said her squad has struggled with injuries and illnesses all season long, but the Panthers put everything together the last week of the regular season.

Rota boys coach Edward DeMerritt said the biggest issue facing his Admirals (10-1) is staying consistent over multiple matches. Their lone loss came against Sigonella on Sept. 27, so they won’t be sleeping on any team.

“We’re as powerful and as strong as we’re going to be,” DeMerritt said. “We’re still struggling with being able to maintain our concentration for a whole day of competition, but I think we’re going to do just fine.”

In the same location, the Bahrain girls are hoping to hold their own against top-seed AOSR (11-2) and fourth-seeded Rota (7-4).

The third-place Falcons (2-1) only got in one weekend of DODEA competition during the regular season.

With local teen competition scarce, Bahrain had to turn to some matches against adults for a team led by senior setter Janessa Brown, senior Jade Courts, freshman middle blocker Sophie Kelly and freshman Mikaila Roberts to get in game action, coach Kevin Martin said.

Their two wins over Sigonella and Naples give them high hopes for this weekend.

“We’re hoping to continue momentum,” Martin said. “Hopefully we’ll do well. We’re excited for the opportunity to see what we can do.”

As for the Bahrain boys (3-0), the Falcons are hoping to soar higher than they did last year when they placed in the Top 6.

To do so, captains Drew Britton and Diego Mercado-Rodriquez, outside hitter Ben Shutt and 6-2 middle blocker Enoch Oduro must get past the Admirals, Wildcats, et al.

Their coach holds no doubts his Falcons can do so.

“We know it’s not going to be an easy weekend for us, but unless things go completely sideways, I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re going to be heading back to Vicenza the next weekend,” Dinkler said.

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