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The next installment of the annual DODDS-Europe football all-star game arrives Saturday.

And this year, it has company.

While Kaiserslautern High School welcomes 64 of the continent’s gridiron standouts, nearby Ramstein High School will play host to 24 girls volleyball stars in the launch of an event that has been years in the making.

“We were hoping to see an all-star event for players of a high caliber to be able to play in a match alongside other top-level players,” said Ramstein coach Erin Markus, one of the event’s organizers along with Vilseck coach Brian Swenty. “We will be celebrating the players that dedicate their time and energy to becoming the best player they can be.”

Saturday’s resulting all-star schedule mirrors the Nov. 7 slate of European championship events, occupying similar time slots and played at the same two KMC venues. Volleyball’s format calls for three consecutive matches starting at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Ramstein, with activities for fans scheduled for the intermissions between matches. The football game follows at 4 p.m. at Kaiserslautern.

The all-star volleyball roster was chosen by a committee of coaches and DODDS-Europe staff from a list of nominees provided by coaches from every DODDS-Europe school. DODDS-Europe Athletic Director Karen Seadore was tasked with dividing the 24 selected players into two equitable teams.

Similar to the football game, the volleyball all-star rosters were limited to players in their junior or senior year.

Sigonella’s Shawn McCarthy, Vicenza’s John Kohut, Bitburg’s Eric Vining and Stuttgart’s Michael Rubino will serve as coaches for the event. The DODDS-Europe football all-star game, meanwhile, has become a staple of the fall schedule since its relaunch in 2011.

This year’s event will diverge from the traditional North-South matchup.

Instead, the 48 selected all-stars were placed into a draft and aligned with either Team Honor, coached by Stuttgart’s Billy Ratcliff, Naples’ Mark Tyler and Vilseck’s Jim Hall, or Team Glory, coached by Wiesbaden’s Steve Jewell, Rota’s Ken Walter and Baumholder’s B.J. Walker.

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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