The 4 Bangers served up all comers with a steaming plate of loss as they cruised through the 5-on-5 Volleyball Tournament, winning back-to-back matches for the championship against Speezike 22-20 and 20-14 at IronWorks Gym here Saturday.
Even though Speezike put up a good fight, their early descent into the losers’ bracket left them playing four best of three matches before getting a shot at the undefeated 4 Bangers.
“We were just beat,” Harry Trinidad, a Speezike player, said. “We thought we had enough juice.”
The 4 Bangers ascent to champions seemed almost impossible if not improbable.
The original 4 Bangers team, comprised of Robert Crochet, Aziz Guiamelon, Jordan Kroell and Michael Westcott, was a full man short.
“We we’re just going to run with four,” said Kroell.
But Kroell recognized John Bass in the crowd and enlisted his aid.
The five-on-five tournament was Bass’ first time playing, said Kroell.
Besides the quirky formation of the team, they had only started practicing together two days before the tournament sans beginner Bass.
Despite these seemingly apparent challenges, the 4 Bangers smashed the competition and found themselves in a final showdown with Speezike, a team they had not faced during the tournament.
Since Speezike had risen from the ashes of the losers’ bracket, to win they would need to win two separate best of three matches.
In the first game, neither team was able to take a commanding lead.
Although Kroell was very effective at spiking, the towering Speezike’s Bryan Rupple and monstrous vertical leap of Trinidad helped combat a number of Kroell’s attempts.
Trinidad and Rupple were able to lay down his fair share of spikes as well, but in the end Speezike fell 22-20.
With everything on the line for Speezike, the second game began with them taking a 3-1 lead.
Despite the initial push from Speezike, the 4 Bangers battled back and evened the score 12-12.
From there, Speezike’s fatigue began to show and they were unable to defend against the rain of spikes from Kroell and Crochet, named most-valuable player for his consistent serving.
Managing a few more points, Speezike finally went down 20-14.
The 4 Bangers didn’t need practice; they came together fluidly for one day of domination.
“We didn’t have any real ringers,” said Kroell. “We all played in tune.”