MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Team Hope Atago took first place in the annual five-on-five volleyball tournament at the IronWorks Gym here July 24.
Three teams hit the courts in the morning hoping to take home the trophy, but Hope Atago didn’t quite do the job last year and was determined to take home the win this time.
The double elimination tournament consisted of 14 games, which all ended in close scores.
Each game went to 15 points with the exception of the game ending in a tie or a one-point difference. At that point the game was played until one team won by two points.
Both Hope Atago and Kings of the Court started out the tournament strong by setting up good plays almost every time and finishing off with swift spikes to the other side of the court.
JT Thunders took the tournament a little less seriously than the two other teams but still enjoyed the friendly competition and kept everyone laughing with their over-the-top dramatics.
Eventually, the tournament became more of a face-off between Hope Atago and Kings of the Court, with Hope Atago winning five out of the eight games played against Kings of the Court.
During the final game, Kings of the Court started off slow, letting Hope Atago rack up the points quickly, but by the time Kings of the Court started to pull it back together Hope Atago had already won the game 10-7.
"We really started to come back, but we didn't have time since the last game only went to 10 points," said Jordan Kroell, team captain for Kings of the Court.
Hope Atago was extremely grateful for their win, especially after taking second place the year before.
"We did a really great job today," said Ritsu Hiromoto, team captain for Hope Atago. "We pulled through as a team and won this tournament together."
Kroell said more important than winning or losing is having the opportunity to participate in intramural sports and friendly competition.
"Intramural sports are very important to the station," said Kroell. "I play a lot of sports, and it really gives us a chance to get together with other station members and local nationals."
For more information on intramural sports, call the athletic division at 253- 4605.