Two stars meet at the net as Rota's Jourdan Timmons, right, tries to get the ball past Black Forest Academy's Priscilla Sivonen at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. The two will duel again for the title Saturday. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
VICENZA, Italy – Six of the nine schools in DODEA-Europe’s Division II are located in Italy. So it’s not at all uncommon to see all-Italian championships in many sports.
But that’s not going to be case Saturday when the girls and boys volleyball titles are decided.
Black Forest Academy almost swept its way into both finals Friday, with the girls going a perfect 9-0 in sets against Aviano, Rota and American Overseas School of Rome. And the Falcons boys went 7-2 to advance to reach the finals again after a year’s absence.
BFA of Germany will meet Rota of Spain in the girls final at 3 p.m. following the boys matchup pitting the Falcons of the Black Forest against the Falcons from Bahrain.
Violet Witty sets up the Black Forest Academy attack at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Lana Seale tries to dig the ball at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
American Overseas School of Rome's Carolina Poddighe bumps the ball at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Black Forest Academy libero Esther Lee lunges to keep the ball in play at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
American Overseas School of Rome setter Gloria Olivieri sends the ball back over the net at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Addison Krajicek hits the ball through an American Overseas School of Rome block at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Rota's Reyna Pelletier bumps the ball at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Black Forest Academy's Priscilla Sivonen keeps the ball in play at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Laura Witty roots for her favorite player, Black Forest Academy setter Violet Witty, at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Rota's Jourdan Timmons sets up the Admirals at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Rota's Amaya Petty tries to get the ball past Aviano's Lana Seale at the DODEA-Europe Division II girls volleyball championships Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Girls
It was a roller-coaster ride Friday for the Admirals, Saints and Falcons from Rome. BFA, however, was driving a steamroller.
“More than I could have hoped for,” BFA coach Kim McKell said of her team’s perfect day at the high school gymnasium.
That included the team’s first match of the day, a 25-22, 25-14, 25-20 victory over Rota. Priscilla Sivonen broke a 22-22 tie in the first set with a kill. Sierra Tweedy followed with another kill and Sivonen ended the set with an ace.
The Admirals closed to within 20-18 in the third set but got no closer. Esther Lee’s ace ended the match.
Rota coach Ben Anderson, whose team didn’t arrive until early in the morning due to a flight delay, said his team will have to serve better, make fewer mistakes and find a way to limit Sivonen as much as possible.
The Admirals might have shown their best plan of attack in their 25-22, 25-21, 25-18 sweep of Aviano that eliminated the Saints and their big hitter, Addison Krajicek.
Rota continually dinked the ball where the Saints weren’t throughout the contest – mostly in the center of the court in between the front and back rows.
“It’s been a big part of our game all year, placing the ball, limiting our mistakes and keeping it in play until the other team makes mistakes,” Anderson said.
McKell expects to see a different team in the finals than the one BFA defeated Friday.
“They must play different than they did against us,” she said. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made it into the finals.”
The Admirals had to anxiously wait until the final point of the final match of the day to qualify for the finals. If AOSR took a set from BFA, it would be an all-Falcon final like the boys. But BFA triumphed 25-21, 25-13, 25-20.
The Saints had defeated AOSR 19-25, 25-15, 25-16 to open the day before dropping their final six sets. Aviano and AOSR play for third Saturday.
Naples' Nathan Mellor bounces the ball off a Bahrain block Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Bahrain's Landon Paulino bumps the ball Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Micah Guerrero tries to get the ball past a Black Forest Academy block Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Steven Irvine Jr. reaches out to keep the ball alive Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Bahrain's Diego Mercado-Rodriguez sets the ball Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Black Forest Academy's Isaiah Woodard bumps the ball Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Black Forest Academy's Nathan Dowdy tries to get the ball past Aviano's Toby Canales Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Derek Orcutt sets the ball Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Boys
If you’re rooting for the Falcons to win Saturday, you’re in luck.
Bahrain, playing only its third weekend against DODEA competition, blitzed its first two foes at the base gym on Caserma Ederle with a 25-8, 25-23, 25-17 triumph over Aviano and a 25-22, 27-25, 25-21 sweep of Naples. That set up a meaningless third match against BFA, because both teams had already clinched spots in the finals.
The Falcons from Germany came out on top, though, winning 16-25, 25-15, 25-9.
BFA had already downed Naples 25-10, 25-17, 23-25 and Aviano 25-19, 25-17, 25-19.
BFA coach Lance Dockery said his team will have to limit its mistakes and block well against Bahrain’s heavy hitters.
“I think our blocking has been very good this weekend,” he said before the final match against Bahrain on Friday. “If that holds up, we should be in pretty good shape.”
Naples and Aviano play for third in a rematch of the Friday matchup that the Wildcats swept 25-17, 25-17, 25-15.
