Pateros APJ volleyball tournament draws eight teams

PATEROS – It was volleyball Sunday, July 16, during the three-day Apple Pie Jamboree as eight teams in two divisions, women and coed, squared off for a full day of competition in the Pateros High School gym.
“Six teams in the women’s division played a full round-robin of one set to 25 points against all five other opponents,” tournament organizer and Pateros varsity volley coach, Gene Dowers said.
Women’s Division teams included:
AKBA: a mostly adult team from Brewster and eventual tournament champions.
Alums: an adult team of old Pateros teammates.
MAMAJ: an adult team from Manson, Okanogan, and Pateros.
Cashmere II: a Cashmere high school team.
Spike Squad: a Manson high school team.
Rogue Five: a team of Pateros eighth and ninth graders.
At the conclusion of the round-robin, three teams were tied with identical, 4-1 records, Dowers said. A playoff of 15-point sets was won by AKBA with wins over Alums (second place), 16-14, and MAMAJ (third place), 15-9.  
Cashmere II was the top school team at fourth place overall, with a 2-3 round-robin record,
Spike Squad was fifth at 1-4, and Rogue Five sixth at 0-5.
Two coed teams were unable to compete, said Dowers, so the remaining two, MAMAJ and Dat Ace Doe, from Pateros, played a best three-of-five match, with MAMAJ winning three sets to one.
 MAMAJ was comprised of Javes Escalera, Ana Vazquez, Miguel Valencia, Miriam Navarro, and Annie Oropeza.
“The tournament was a successful fundraiser for Pateros volleyball,” said Dowers. “The adult competition was very intense and the school girls rose to the challenge and learned a lot.”
Dowers added that since there were lots of friends between teams “the play was tough and friendly at the same time.”