9th AS flies past 3d AS/436th OSS in volleyball

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class William Johnson
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 9th Airlift Squadron is pulling out as a frontrunner in the American League in intramural volleyball and is  paving a road to the playoffs with hopes of a championship.

With only one blemish on their record, the 9th AS won their sixth match of the season with a sweeping victory against the combined 3d AS/436th Operations Support Squadron 25-18, and 25-23 April 23, 2015, at the fitness center on Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

The first game was a back and forth battle with no more than three rally points per team. The 9th AS found themselves with a slight advantage against the 3d AS/436th OSS 20-18 when they took the final possession of the game. With a five-point rally, the 9th AS secured the first win of the match.

"I think the first game went alright for us," said Bryan Dohlman, 9th AS coach. "It's always a little harder to play the 5:30 games, we have to come out here right after work and knock some of the rust off our game."

It may have taken the rust a little longer to dissipate than they were hoping. On the other side of the net, it was as if the 3d AS/436th OSS received an oil change between games and they quickly took control of game two. The 9th AS struggled to keep pace and trailed by 3-4 points the entire game.

The score was 23-20 in favor of the 3d AS/436th OSS and the 9th AS was in desperate need of some WD-40 if there was any chance to salvage the game. That is when Adam Ferkovich, 9th AS, was up to serve.

"When I went up to serve, all I was thinking is 'let's just get it over'," said Ferkovich,

Get it over is exactly what he did. Just as in game one, the 9th AS sealed the deal with another five-point rally winning the game 25-23 and sweeping the overall match 2-0.

Richard Arnold, 3d AS/436th OSS, was the acting coach for his team and he said even though his team lost, he was pleased with their performance.

"Actually, tonight went pretty well for us." said Arnold. "We came in with a new 6-2 strategy. It was a little confusing in the first game, but the second game came around and we smoothed out the rotations. Overall, it was minor errors on our part that cost us the match."

The 9th AS is continuing to gain momentum on the court and Dohlman says his team's efforts and skills reflect upon that.

"We got some guys that can play," said Dohlman. "We are still gelling as a team and it is really fun for us to come out here and play."