Kubasaki’s primary weapon is senior Yuri Biggins, right, the reigning D-I tournament Best Hitter. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

Several DODEA-Pacific girls volleyball teams might well replace the school names or mascots on their jerseys with the phrase “Unfinished business.”

That would seem to especially apply to teams like Kubasaki of Okinawa, which finished second in last year’s Far East Division I tournament and the American School In Japan YUJO tournament two weeks ago.

E.J. King of Japan took third place in last year’s Division II tournament, a step behind runner-up Osan of South Korea.

They and a handful of others who’ve come close but not close enough will get that chance again this Thursday through Saturday, in the D-I tournament hosted by Kubasaki, and the D-II taking place at Robert D. Edgren.

Coach Rick Andrew says his Cobras are “always viewing it as ‘unfinished business,’” more so because King hasn’t stepped on the court since late September.

“We were hoping to (be) on the end of three weeks of tournament play, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way,” Andrew said of a lengthy layoff, caused in part by the government shutdown.

The Cobras and southwestern Japan rival Matthew C. Perry were due to play at YUJO the first weekend of October, but the shutdown forced King and the Samurai to the sidelines.

King was to host the Western Japan Athletic Association Tournament the next weekend, but it got moved to Nagoya International and the resumption of DODEA-Pacific sports came too late to allow Perry and King to play.

With Far East at Misawa next, “we will try to wipe the rust off and be excited to end the year with a positive showing,” Andrew said.

His Cobras are led by senior hitter Mila Nishimura-Reed and junior Aniah Little, junior setter Ai Kina and junior outside hitter Nanami Crump. The Samurai get much of their power from junior Brooklyn Hunter and setter Carmela Sudo.

Yokota could also be in the hunt, with its senior middle duo of Cami Cort and Ty’Lasia Anu. Host Edgren is senior heavy with middle Summer Martinez, outside Kaleiana Alonzo and libero Keira Marrero.

While Osan is in building phase, Daegu could surprise. The Warriors went unbeaten in the third-tier White Division and are paced by seniors Denali Clites and Abigail Cook and sisters Mila and Olivia Buettner.

Naya Cummings, middle, and Christian Academy Japan are trying to make it back-to-back Far East Division II titles, on the heels of winning the YUJO tournament earlier this month. (Mayu Ono/Special to Stripes)

Gloria Wang, left, and Christian Academy Japan are trying to make it back-to-back Far East Division II titles, on the heels of winning the YUJO tournament earlier this month. (Mayu Ono/Special to Stripes)

Jade Naughton, left, is a prime striking weapon for Kadena. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

Leighton Botes, right, is a strong outside hitting option for Kadena. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

The Far East tournaments feature two days of pool or round-robin play followed by quarterfinals or semifinals and consolation play. The D-I final is at 3 p.m. and D-II at 5 p.m. Saturday.

In D-I, Kubasaki could be focused on results, but coach Joshua McCall says the Dragons are more about the process and progress.

“If we win, it’s because of our team’s resilience to bounced back after errors,” McCall saiid. “It would be because we play defense as a team and serve tough. It would be because we were able to stay calm when things get crazy.”

As usual, Kubasaki and Kadena waged some tough regular-season battles, with the Panthers coming out on the winning end of the season finale a week ago in five sets.

Kubasaki’s most reliable weapon is senior Yuri Biggins, the reigning D-I Best Hitter, plus senior outside Ria McGriff and junior setter Rameghlyn Doctolero.

Kadena’s centerpiece is senior setter Christina Kehe, whose sets go to outsides Jade Naughton, Genesis Afaisen and Leighton Botes and middle Sara Mei Fussinger, among others.

Humphreys shared first place in Korea’s top-tier Blue Division with Seoul Foreign, each at 7-1. The Blackhawks have six seniors on the roster, led by outside Evelyn Kim.

And Nile C. Kinnick, bolstered by the additions of sophomore outsides Adrianna Dogojo and Layla Alvarez, captured the Kanto Plain regular-season title. Senior Alyssa Staples mans the middle and sophomore Phoebe Shoda and senior Kay Kim are the setters.

There will be a new D-I champion. The team that won the last two years, Academy of Our Lady of Guam, is in its league postseason tournament at the same time as Far East.

Last year’s D-II champion Christian Academy Japan is back to try to repeat, on the heels of winning the YUJO tournament.

“They have their unity and their never-give-up mentality,” Knights coach Lisa Cummings said. “It’s pretty much the same team the past two or three years. They’ve been playing together since the sixth grade. They have good chemistry. That’s their power, that’s their strength.”

Layla Alvarez is a strong outside hitter who came to Kinnick off the PCS Plane from Texas. (Eryzah Joyce Ricardo/Special to Stripes)

Arrianna Cabrera, right, and Robert D. Edgren have the home-court advantage in the D-II tournament. Kennedy Kibort Krebs’ Yokota team won the tournament two years ago. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)

Mila Buettner, right, and Daegu went unbeaten in Korea's third-tier White Division this season; Mariah Jimenez and Humphreys have six seniors on a roster that went 7-1 in Korea's top-tier Blue Division. (Ashley Angell/Special to Stripes)

Rameghlyn Doctolero is Kubasaki's prime setting option. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

Denali Clites is one of the senior leaders on Daegu's volleyball team. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)