The Bermuda Volleyball Association sent a senior men’s and women’s team to the 2022 USA Volleyball Open National Championships.

The men played under the team name ‘Ace Boyz’ and the women under the club name ‘Devil’s Isle VC.’ This is the first time the senior teams have competed in an overseas volleyball tournament arena since their last US Open appearance back in 2019.

Day 1

After the first day of play, the men progressed to the Gold Bracket after finishing 2nd in their pool. Meanwhile, the women moved on to the Copper Bracket after finishing 3rd in their pool.

The men’s team finished with a record of 1 win and 2 defeats, they won 3 sets and lost 4. They began by defeating the Malibu Joe’s 25-21, 25-17, but they then fell 25-18, 25-16 to the Beast Mode. The Bermuda men then ended the group stage falling to CVC Venezuela 22-25, 25-22, 15-11.

The women also finished with a record of 1 win and 2 defeats, however, they won 2 sets and lost 4. They started out defeating the Smokin Aces 26-24, 25-17, but they would then fall 25-23, 25-22 to the Lexington Ladies, before closing out with a 25-15, 25-10 defeat to the Hot Shots.

Day 2

The women started the day in a match against Radiate VB Flash. They played well and came out winners [25-13 and 25-14]. The second match of the day was against Golden Girls [New Jersey]. The teams were evenly matched with Bermuda losing the first game 23-25. However, they came back in the second set and defeated their opponents 25-22. The deciding game was also close but Bermuda’s women were defeated 11-15.

The men’s team had their first match against Extended Car Warranty [Iowa]. The team played really well and defeated their opponents [25-10 and 25-19. Next up the team had to play a very closely matched team from Alaska [AK Sons]. Bermuda unfortunately were defeated 26-24 and 25-23.

Day 3

On the final day, the teams fought to advance as high in the standings as they could. The final standings saw the women ending up in 26th place and the men in 11th place.

The women finished similarity to the previous tournament [pre-Covid 2019]. The men improved their final placement in the tournament from the previous year [pre-Covid 2019].

The teams gained invaluable experience for the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Championships which are on the calendar. The men will travel to Antigua from July 6-11, 2022 and the women will travel to French St Martin in October 2022.