Volleyball: While You Were Away…

Volleyball: While You Were Away…
By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Alison Osius)

With an injured Kent Steffes leaving partner Karch Kiraly to play with less bankable substitutes for two long months, the pro tour was decidedly invigorated last April: Everybody else had a chance to notch some wins before the duo’s expected reunion this month. One of the best early-season matchups featured the rising Brazilian duo of Eduardo Bacil and José Loiola versus
veterans Mike Whitmarsh and Mike Dodd in front of a boisterous crowd at the Jose Cuervo Gold Crown tournament in Clearwater, Florida. Dodd and Whitmarsh scratched their way back into contention after falling behind 11-3 in the final game. With the college hoops star Whitmarsh blocking at net and Dodd flopping every which way for backline saves, the crowd favorites finally pulled
ahead 14-13. The rattled Brazilians staved off a half-dozen match points before caving in from exhaustion. They didn’t even manage a block attempt on the final Whitmarsh-to-Dodd spike. After lying in the sand for several seconds, Dodd found the energy to rise and trade high fives with most of the paying customers.