Air Force women take second in volleyball, men take third

  • Published
  • By Bud McKay
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
FORT LEWIS, Wash. (AFPN) --  The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps fired shots at each other May 22 to 26 here during the 2004 armed forces volleyball championships. Some of the shots were lobs; some of the shots were bullets.

But the Navy men and the Army women fired the best shots as they went on to claim the 2004 armed forces volleyball championships. The tournament was a double round-robin, five-game format.

The Air Force women earned the silver medal with a 1-3 record. They had to use a tiebreaker with the 1-3 combined Navy and Marine Corps team. Going head-to-head, the Air Force earned the second-place finish.

Even though they said they did not do as well as they would have liked, Michelle Kenner from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., said she was not all that disappointed.

“It’s an honor to be able to compete and represent (our) service,” she said.

The Air Force men finished with a 3-3 record, the same record as the silver-medal Army team. But using the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Army earned second place.

“There was still some good competition this year with all of the deployments,” said John Napier, an eight-year veteran on the Air Force team who is from Northern Arizona University where he is an ROTC instructor. “It’s a toss up every year no matter what.”

For the men, Jason McDonald from Dyess AFB, Texas, was named to the all-tournament team. Two from the Air Force’s women’s team earned all-tournament honors -- Sarah Kotte from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Tamara Luckmeyer from Altus AFB, Okla.

Four Airmen were selected to join the all-armed forces’ team that will compete internationally. Representing the Air Force men will be McDonald and Kyle Klinger from Hurlburt Field, Fla. Continuing for the women will be Luckmeyer and Gina Marino from Scott AFB, Ill. Walter Anchors, a civilian from Lisbon, Ohio, who is the head coach of the Air Force’s women’s team, was selected to be an assistant coach.