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Photo Information

Chad Christensen, member of the first Marine Corps men’s beach volleyball team, serves during the beach volleyball tournament, May 4. Christensen was selected for the Men’s Armed Forces team that will play in Phoenix later this month.

Photo by Lance Cpl. Cory D. Polom

Cherry Point kicks off volleyball championship

21 May 2010 | Lance Cpl. Cory D. Polom Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

Men and women from every United States branch of service came to Cherry Point for the 2010 men and women’s Armed Forces Volleyball Championship, May 3-11.

The championship consisted of beach volleyball and indoor volleyball. This was the first time that the Armed Forces Volleyball Championship played beach volleyball, but it didn’t seem to affect the players as they competed for the gold.

The men and women started the competition in the sand where the Navy womens’ team took the gold and silver for the women and the Navy men took control and beat the Air Force men for the gold.

“It is very different and kind of difficult to go from playing in the sand then going to the hard wood,” said Christine “Rusty” Rostowfske, a striker for the Navy women’s team. “Indoor competition has more variables. You go from a two-person team to a six-person team.” 

During the floor games the results were reversed from the beach-volleyball tournament. The Air Force’s men and women took the gold, and the Navy’s men and women took the silver.

“Indoor volleyball is a faster-paced game,” said Haley Arnest, a middle hitter for the Marine Corps women’s team. “The greatest part of indoor, as compared to beach, is you have a lot of shoulders to lean on in an indoor match.”

After the tournament was over, the teams met for one last time at Cunningham’s for final announcements and awards.

After the first day of indoor competition the coaches along with Ken Polk, the deputy coordinator for armed forces sports, sat down and selected the national and international 2010 Armed Forces teams, which were announced at the final awards ceremony.

The women will be staying here to compete against five other nations for the World Armed Forces Women’s Volleyball Championship, and the men will be traveling to Phoenix to compete in the Men’s National Volleyball Championship against some of the best men’s teams in the United States.

“Over the last week we have been very privileged here at Cherry Point to see some great volleyball matches,” said Col. Douglas A. Denn, the air station commanding officer. “It all started in the sand and ended with some amazing fast-paced action on the court." 


Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point