436th MXS picks up easy first round victory

Published May 14, 2013
By Tech. Sgt. Chuck Walker
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Finishing in second place the last two years in the base volleyball championship has motivated the 436th Maintenance Squadron to go further in the playoffs this season.

The 436th MXS took the first step toward that goal on Monday with a25-10 and 25-19 sweep of the 436th Force Support Squadron in the first round of the intramural volleyball playoffs May 13, 2013, at the fitness center on Dover Air Force Base, Del.

Player-coach Emmanuel Perez led the 436th MXS slamming home seven kills and serving eight service points, four of which were aces. Alex Brewer served ten service points and four aces, while Anthony Sojo added four kills and Patrick Piazza had two kills and one ace as the 436th MXS moved on in the winner's bracket of the tournament.

Piazza said serving was the key to victory for the 436th MXS.

"It was a good first game and good first win," Piazza said. "The key to it is serving. If you put the ball in play you have a chance to score. Once we started getting the serves in, we started passing a little bit better, hitting better. That's the key to playing good volleyball."
In game one, Perez had six service points, four aces and three kills and Piazza added two kills and one ace as the 436th MXS rolled to an easy 25-10 victory.

Brewer saved the day for the 436th MXS in game two. With the 436th MXS trailing 12-6, Brewer served 10 service points and four aces as his team overcame the six-point deficit to take game two 25-19.

Perez said the 436th MXS was able to feed off of Brewer's play and that led to the victory.

"His focus is to take it easy and getting his serves in play and he was able to do that," Perez said. "Without him getting his serves in, we wouldn't have had a comeback. His service and his sets helped a lot. We can always feed off Brewer."

For the 436th FSS, they will now have to move on to the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament. Opas Lorboon said communication breakdowns are what hurt his team.

"We couldn't get anything going and they were very good and very organized," Lorboon said. "We lost our composure and we didn't communicate well. Once we lost that lead, everyone was down. We were outplayed."

The 436th MXS moves on to the winner's bracket with one goal in mind...

"We just need to keep building on our momentum and get better each time we step out on the court," Piazza said. "We've finished in second place the last two years, we want nothing less than the championship."