Black Forest Academy's Jonas Witherall pushes the ball over the net toward the block of Bahrain's Zeyad Ramadan, left, and Noah Gabrielle on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championship game in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
VICENZA, Italy – The Bahrain boys volleyball team wanted some attention Friday and Saturday at the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championships.
After all, it sometimes can get a bit lonely more than 1,000 miles from your nearest contemporaries.
Mission accomplished.
The Falcons powered their way past Black Forest Academy in the championship game 25-11, 25-20, 25-16.
It was just the third weekend of competition against DODEA foes for Bahrain, whose regular season was cut even shorter than usual this year as DODEA-Europe tried to shorten the time its teams spent traveling.
“It’s nice to get noted on the map,” coach Josh Dinkler said. “We’ve got a lot of hard-working military families, too, and they deserve things like this.
“We try to make the most of the opportunities we’re offered,” he said. “We don’t get a lot. So, it’s good to take advantage when we do.”
Bahrain took advantage of a roster that’s full of capable hitters.
The most notable one in the first set was 6-foot-2 junior Enoch Oduro. Setter Diego Mercardo-Rodriguez found him numerous times with short, quick sets right at the middle of the net that often resulted in a ball flying at BFA players before they could react, much less get to the net to try to block.
Neither Dinkler nor team captain Drue Britton wanted to share a strategy on how to defeat that play. Many teams run it, though not so effectively.
Black Forest clearly didn’t have an answer early.
“It was a learning curve that we were trying to figure out the whole set,” BFA coach Lance Dockery said.
Bahrain libero Landon Paulino sets the ball Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championship game in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Bahrain's Drue Britton spikes the ball before Black Forest Academy's Malachi Wood Pineda can get there Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championship game in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Black Forest Academy’s Malachi Wood Pineda sets the ball Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championship game in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Black Forest Academy’s Jonas Witherall tries to hit the ball past Bahrain’s Enoch Oduro on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championship game in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Bahrain's Ben Shutt finds himself in a shadow and bumps the ball Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in the DODEA-Europe South boys volleyball championship game in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
But because the tactic had the attention of the Falcons from Germany, it opened up more opportunities for outside hitters such as Britton and Zeyad Ramadan. They started to supply much of the Bahrain firepower in the second and third sets.
For Britton, it was his fourth trip to the boys championships in Italy and the first time his school even had reached the finals.
“I’ve been waiting for four years for this to happen,” he said.
He had the kill that ended the first set. The second and third sets were closer. But Bahrain had too many weapons coming from too many places.
“They seemed to choose this game for everyone to just play fantastically,” Dockrey said.
Dinkler wasn’t arguing.
“Everyone was just on fire today,” he said. “It was a pleasure to watch. We definitely peaked this year at the tournament.”
Britton was named outstanding player of the tournament. Teammates Mercado-Rodriguez and Landon Paulino made the all-tournament team along with BFA’s Nathan Dowdy and Uriah Trusty, Naples’ Steven Irvine Jr. and Aviano’s Micah Guerrero.
The Saints beat the Wildcats 22-25, 25-15, 15-13 for third. That contest was suspended in the first set at the high school and the rest of the schedule was played at the base gym on Caserma Ederle after a ceiling tile appeared ready to fall on the court.
