Wiesbaden gets first boys win, while BFA dominates

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Dominic Zwygart didn’t help start the Wiesbaden boys volleyball club thinking about making history.

He and Ty Waldron had sought to make the club into a varsity program.

The junior middle blocker/opposite hitter found himself doing that with the rest of the Warriors against SHAPE at Vogelweh Fitness Center on Saturday afternoon.

In their third-ever varsity match, the Warriors defeated the Spartans 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-19. That marked the team’s first win.

And Zwygart scored the clinching point with a final dink that he admitted he expected the Spartans (1-3) to dig.

“I’m very connected with the team,” Zwygart said. “It makes me really proud and happy that we’ve come so far.”

The confidence the win gives the Warriors (1-3) is palpable, said Waldron, one of the team’s captains.

“Now that we’re actually here, it’s surreal,” Waldron said. “(It’s) a big confidence booster, knowing that we can hang with the level in DODEA.”

Through four sets of action on Saturday, things didn’t look great for Wiesbaden.

The Warriors dropped their morning match against Black Forest Academy 25-9, 25-17, 25-8, and then they lost the opening set vs. SHAPE.

But a few changes turned the tide. After struggling in the 5-1 formation with Waldron setting to give his shoulder a rest, the Warriors switched to a 6-2. Waldron hit in the front row and set while in the back row, and sophomore Randall Redeen shared setting duties.

The offense began to flow, and Waldron had the most success. He finished the match with eight kills, and four of them came in the final set.

“A big thing we’ve been talking about this season is keeping our energy up, even if we’re down,” Waldron said. “I think that helped carry us through after that first set loss to get through those last three sets.”

As much of a confidence boost the victory gave Wiesbaden, the team got a lesson in the early match against the Falcons, a powerhouse in the South Division.

BFA swept both the Warriors and Spartans, the latter of which the Falcons defeated 25-15, 25-17, 25-16. And they did so with experimental lineups to work on players’ versatility.

Middle blocker/outside hitter Uriah Trusty explained how the experiment could play a huge role later in the season. The Falcons are looking to stand atop the South Division podium at next month’s European championships in Vicenza after finishing runner-up to Bahrain last fall.

“There’s so many different combinations that we can be effective in,” Trusty said. “Trying different rotations, having different people play, it’s really helpful to see, especially in the beginning of the season.”

SHAPE coach Erika Aquino said her Spartans didn’t look anything like the team she saw in the opening matches of the season.

Trying to return to the team that took a set from defending North champion Stuttgart and swept Lakenheath is a priority over the next week.

“We’ve got some solid kids – some solid hitters and a great couple of setters,” Aquino said. “I think it’s all there. It’s just a matter of everything getting together.”

Kaiserslautern's Gracie Sanders spikes the ball against Wiesbaden junior Zara Nevels during a volleyball match on Sept. 26, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden’s Ty Waldron tries to block an attack by SHAPE’s Krystian Wodzynski during a volleyball match on Sept. 26, 2026, at Vogelweh Fitness Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Black Forest Academy senior Priscilla Sivonen jumps to spike a ball during a volleyball match against Kaiserslautern on Sept. 26, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden senior Kayla McKee jumps to spike the ball during a volleyball match against SHAPE on Sept. 26, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Kaiserslautern's Marlee Storch sets the ball during a volleyball match against Black Forest Academy on Sept. 26, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Girls

BFA relishes the opportunity to take on Division I competition, and the Falcons got a chance at three of them – Kaiserslautern, SHAPE and Wiesbaden – Saturday during a marathon of volleyball matches at Kaiserslautern High School.

The defending Division II European champions showed why they have no fear against the bigger schools. The Falcons swept all three squads – 25-17, 25-19 against the Warriors, 25-12, 25-20 against the Spartans and 25-19, 25-11 vs. the Raiders.

The four teams played best-of-three matches on Saturday.

“We like playing against very hard teams because they challenge us really well but we know that we can play at that level,” said BFA senior Priscilla Sivonen, Stars and Stripes’ 2025 DODEA-Europe girls volleyball Athlete of the Year. “So, it’s not like an impossible challenge.

“We always take something to learn back to practice toward championships. Everything we do is toward championships.”

Nothing between the other teams was straightforward, though.

Kaiserslautern defeated Wiesbaden in the opening match 25-22, 25-12. SHAPE came back from a set down to beat the Raiders 25-25, 25-23, 15-12, and then the Warriors flipped the script onto the Spartans by bouncing back from a first-set loss to win 19-25, 25-23, 15-11 in the last match of the day.

“I think the middle (group) is very even,” SHAPE coach Kate Maxson said of the Division I race. “Based on what we saw today, us, Wiesbaden, K-Town, I think it’s anybody’s (game).”

Maxson credited her players’ resiliency as a major reason for the victory over the Raiders (3-4).

The hosts’ coach, Ashley Riker, said her team committed too many errors vs. SHAPE (1-4). But the opening loss, as well as leading for much of the first set against BFA, gives the Raiders examples of what their potential looks like.

“The girls are still learning to overcome some mental barriers, and that’s probably the hardest thing in volleyball,” Riker said. “They’re excited with their win against Wiesbaden because Wiesbaden has historically been a high competitor.”

The Warriors (2-3), meanwhile, struggled through their first 4.5 sets of the day. A small run while trailing 22-11 in the first set against the Spartans provided a spark, senior Lillie Redeen said.

They led the entire second set, and their play carried over to the third set that Warriors controlled.

“That little run just helped bring our confidence back because it showed we can get consecutive points, we can control the game,” Redeen said. “Going into the next set, we kept that in mind so we could bring the energy to defeat them.”

The Spartans didn’t let that loss nor the one against BFA sour them.

And they also had something other than the victory over Kaiserslautern to celebrate. During the loss to the Falcons, libero Dimitra Karpontini recorded her 500th career dig, and they stopped the match to acknowledge it.

The senior said last year she learned she was close to the milestone but had forgotten about it until Saturday.

“I was really trying all these seasons to be my best self, and all the work I’ve put in these seven years of playing volleyball,” Karpontini said.

SHAPE setter Jaden Smith bumps the ball at the net during a volleyball match against Wiesbaden on Sept. 26, 2026, at Vogelweh Fitness Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

SHAPE's Alex Petreaca bumps the ball while libero Dimitra Karpontini watches during a volleyball match against Kaiserslautern on Sept. 26, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden's Dominic Zwygart blocks a spike by SHAPE's Efe Karagulle as Warriors Georgi Edwards also jumps at the net during a volleyball match on Sept. 26, 2026, at Vogelweh Fitness Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Black Forest Academy's Lydia Moore spikes the ball against Wiesbaden junior Zara Nevels during a volleyball match on Sept. 26, 2026, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Black Forest Academy libero Jongha Park goes low for a dig as teammates Tre Schlonecker, left, and Jhun-I Kang during a volleyball match against Wiesbaden on Sept. 26, 2026, at Vogelweh Fitness Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)