FIREBIRDS FINISH CHAIR VOLLEYBALL SEASON WITH PRIDE
By Stefanie Camacho
Gumm Yuh Jeh!! The Chair Volleyball season is coming to an end. Both teams from Fort McDowell attended the annual Pala Band of Mission Indians tournament in Pala, CA. For Team Baja, it was their first appearance at the tournament, and they are eager to return next year. The hospitality of the Pala Band of Mission Indians was something to rival that of Buckingham Palace. Employees and Volunteers were gracious and super friendly in every aspect of the tournament.
Day one of tournament play was pool play. Baja came in and played their hardest, winning them a spot in the Bronze bracket. The Firebirds came out hot and earned their spot in the Gold bracket. Day two, both teams locked in for match play. Baja won their first match but lost their second match and were done for the day. The Firebirds came out swinging, winning all their matches for the day, leaving them on the hill for the Championship the next day. Day three, Baja lost a player due to the fact that he had to return for the sunrise dance, but they came out swinging, winning their next two matches. Unfortunately, Baja had some injuries along the way and lost their third match. One player was hit in the face with the ball, knocking the wind out of them, ceasing play for a bit. One player fell off their chair, and another player fell over with their chair. After all the adversity, Baja played hard and tried their best, leaving them with the taste of redemption for the next year.
The Firebirds started later in the afternoon, winning their first match to put them into the Championship match. After two more matches, it was time for the Championship. Since the Firebirds had not lost a match, it was up to Pala Turtles 1 to try to change that status. Since there is no time limit in the Championship games, we all settled into our seats and watched what was a back-and-forth match between the teams. The Firebirds came up victoriously in the first match, and after taking a small break, they settled back in for game number two. Another back-and-forth match ensued as the Firebirds patiently played their game, beating the Pala Turtles 1 for their undefeated Gold Bracket Championship. Cheers erupted as the Firebirds claimed victory in a heavily stacked division. Our very own Leila Williams battled all three days of play with asthma and was rewarded the Female MVP of the Gold Championship game.
Did we mention that their matches were live-streamed on YouTube? That didn’t seem to bother the teams playing, though, and it was something for supporters to be able to cheer their team on from wherever they watched. Both teams look forward to returning next year and are practicing for their next tournament, be it local or travel.
