To all you volleyball enthusiasts/players:

Welcome to AirVorne Volleyball’s 2010 outdoor schedule. The schedule is FULL of tournaments from Sand to Grass, Reverse to Regular, Men to Women and the most popular format – King/Queen of the Grass. This list will be posted onto the calendar soon. Registration for all events will open 10 days prior to the event. Location of each tournament will be announced on the Registration Page.

All players MUST BE an AVPNext member to play. To register for the 2010 AVPNext membership, please visit:

https://avp.webconnex.com/events/avpmembership

On Saturday, March 20th, there will be an AVPNext party hosted at AirVorne’s main sponsor site, Cheyenne Grille. There will be more details to come on this, but please do mark this date on your calendars. Plus, it is officially the first day of Spring.

I hope to bring a fun-filled spring/summer season to those of you who enjoy playing the sport of volleyball. I look forward to the challenge and hope to see everyone on the courts…real real soon. If anyone has any questions/comments, please send them to my attention at djocson@airvorne.com.

Dennis Jocson
Director of AirVorne Volleyball

AirVorne – Double’s Grass Series
Saturday, March 27th
Saturday, May 8th
Saturday, June 19th
Saturday, July 10th
Sunday, July 25th
Saturday, August 14th
Saturday, September 4th
Saturday, September 18th
Saturday, October 16th – Championship Tournament

AirVorne – Coed Grass Series
Saturday, April 10th – Reverse
Saturday, May 22nd – Regular
Sunday, June 6th – Reverse
Sunday, July 18th – Regular
Sunday, August 29th – Reverse
Sunday, September 12th – Regular
Saturday, October 30th – Reverse – Championship Tournament

AirVorne – Women’s Sand Series
Saturday, April 17th
Saturday, May 15th
Saturday, June 5th
Saturday, July 17th
Saturday, August 7th
Saturday, August 28th
Saturday, September 11th
Saturday, October 9th – Championship Tournament

AirVorne – Men’s Sand Series
Sunday, April 18th
Sunday, May 9th
Sunday, June 13th
Sunday, July 11th
Sunday, August 1st
Sunday, August 22nd
Sunday, September 19th
Sunday, October 10th – Championship Tournament

AirVorne – Coed Sand Series
Sunday, April 11th
Sunday, May 16th
Sunday, June 20th
Saturday, July 24th
Sunday, August 15th
Sunday, September 5th
Sunday, September 26th
Saturday, October 23rd – Championship Tournament

AirVorne – King / Queen Series
Saturday, April 3rd – King / Queen of the Grass – Reverse Coed
Saturday, May 1st – King / Queen of the Grass – Regular Coed
Saturday, June 26th – King / Queen of the Grass – Reverse Coed
Saturday, August 21st – King / Queen of the Grass – Regular Coed
Saturday, October 2nd – King / Queen of the Grass – Reverse Coed

AirVorne – Special Series
Two-Day, May 29th to 30th – Quad Coed / Bi-Surface
Saturday, July 31st – Quad Grass – Reverse Coed
Saturday, September 25th – Quad Grass – Reverse Coed

As the season starts for 2010, AirVorne Volleyball is always looking to support other organizations. Steve French has always been respected for his amazing volleyball talent as well as his leadership as a tournament director for his Men’s Open tournaments.

Please be sure to visit his website for more information on his schedule.

Good luck with your season, Steve.

Dennis Jocson
AirVorne Volleyball

As the season starts for 2010, AirVorne Volleyball is always looking to support other organizations. Mike Minich and his crew has been hosting Fudpucker’s for a very long time and has done an amazing job in running the show down in the Panhandle. Emerald Coast Volleyball Week begins the week of April 19th – 23rd. Good times as always…

Please be sure to visit his website for more information and scheduled events. Registration is OPEN now…

Good luck, Mike and I hope to make it down there myself.

Dennis Jocson
AirVorne Volleyball

AirVorne Volleyball – website:
One of the biggest ventures since AirVorne was established back in 2000 was the creation of www.airvorne.com. Again, all credit for the website goes to Jordan Robinson, a former Atlanta resident whose talent helped AirVorne regain some recognition to the volleyball community from all over the nation. The visions he had with his web design skills along with the information for AirVorne has created a fun-filled website with information about the happenings of the volleyball community. Of course, this is not easy to do as far as keeping up with the most current happenings of the volleyball community. Also would like to give special thanks to Venable Photography for the outstanding photos throughout the entire season. As the saying goes, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. Thanks Will. My goal for the website is to become a central point of information for all Atlanta volleyball events/tournaments. Your feedback will be crucial in getting whatever information you have to share with the volleyball community.

AirVorne Tournaments:
This year, AirVorne Volleyball had 12 tournament formats total…most of them sand tournaments. One of the major problems was that the outdoor schedule for AirVorne Volleyball was not established early on. With the incorporation of AirVorne Volleyball back in May, I had a late start in establishing a schedule for the summer. Another important factor in establishing the schedule was wondering what the volleyball community wanted. The last AirVorne tournament was back in 2006…it was a King/Queen of the Grass Format at Osborne Park that was stopped by the Deputy Director of Dekalb County at that time. Luckily for us, he is no longer there. Some of you guys might remember that incident. In September of this year, I met with some key players of the volleyball community to talk about the overall 2009 spring/summer season. One of the big issues we talked about was the level of play for each division and having a rating system established. The point system that AirVorne established was not really put to the test this summer since the schedule was not established although the Women’s Sand Series did show some signs of ranking within the female athletes. Overall, Sheila Gatlin showed her amazing consistent talent on the court and came out on top of the Women’s Sand Series. Congratulations, Sheila not only for your talent/sportsmanship on the court but also for your leadership to all female players of all levels; that leadership was shown during the Mix/Match Tournament back in June. Most of the sand tournaments were held at Piedmont Park and/or Virginia Highlands. Special thanks to the Piedmont Park Conversancy and the Sand Committee at the Highlands for their partnership throughout the season. The most popular tournament format of this past season was the Coed Sand tournaments due to the social aspect of having everyone there.

Sand Camps for the Kids:
Everyone in the volleyball community knows by now about ‘Sand Volleyball’ being incorporated in the collegiate level for women. When the AVP came to Atlanta this past May, they started a new venture to help support ‘Sand Volleyball’ – AVP Juniors, a sand camp for juniors. With this came an opportunity for AirVorne Volleyball to continue this education/coaching by offering our own sand camp/clinic for girls. AirVorne Volleyball is proud to say that we were the first to offer this opportunity to the local kids. Kim Dalimonte, Director of Youth Programs, did a fantastic job in recruiting and marketing our first camp given the time frame. One of the biggest marketing success Kim was responsible for was having our own booth at the AVP Atlanta which help get AirVorne back on the map. During the camps, Coach Kim’s leadership throughout the entire program proved to be successful with the kids and the parents. Special thanks to you, Kim for an outstanding and successful program that I am proud to have with AirVorne Volleyball.

2010 Season – Bigger and Better:
As the 2009 outdoor season finally comes to a close for AirVorne Volleyball, I look forward to next year and creating more opportunities for the volleyball community. Here are some of the opportunities that I am working presently:

Dig 4 Kids/Atlanta: After-School Program for Kids.
AVPNext Barefoot Wine Series: League for the Elite – the opportunity for AVP San Francisco
Cheyenne Grille: Future sponsor for the volleyball community
AirVorne’s Superstore: Online Volleyball Store

These are just some of the items I am working on for next year. I would also like to thank and look forwarding to supporting the AVP organization in their ventures. Special thanks to Jason Hodell, CEO of the AVP, and Jonpaul Roepke, AVPNext Manager for their support with AirVorne Volleyball.

See you guys on the court…next year.

Dennis Jocson
AirVorne Volleyball, LLC.

For all GRASS TOURNAMENTS, if there is severe rain/thunderstorms (30% or more) at the tournament location the night before, it is the player’s responsibility to check for the tournament status on AirVorne’s website. Based on the forecast of the weather, players will be able to know if there is rain expected the day before the tournament. If the grass tournament is cancelled due to weather, all players will be refunded the registration fee via PayPal.

For all SAND TOURNAMENTS, if the weather calls out for 70% or more rain/thunderstorms, the tournament will be cancelled. If the sand tournament begins and receives rain during the day, play will be suspended immediately if there is any indication of thunderstorms or lighting. If the weather does not improve within 45 minutes of suspension, the Tournament Director has the discretion to cancel or postponed the tournament.

Please remember: it is the responsibility of the Tournament Director to make the best decision for all players and their safety. If there are any questions/concerns about this policy or any suggestions, please feel free to contact Dennis Jocson, Director of AirVorne Volleyball events.

Let’s hope for great weather this spring/summer.

In May of 2009, AirVorne Volleyball, LLC became a legitimate small business. Dennis Jocson, Director and Founder, is focused on serving the volleyball community. The launch of our website, www.airvorne.com, will provide the means to keep you updated on the latest news and events, register online for upcoming tournaments, view photos and videos and post comments. Special thanks to Jordan Robinson for creating and designing our website. He will be missed as he ventures out to California, but we are thrilled that he has agreed to continue to support us here in Atlanta remotely.

Another goal for www.airvorne.com is to provide central support to the volleyball community not only by publishing AirVorne events, but by promoting other volleyball events and organizations like Steve French of ATL Volleyball and local Junior volleyball clubs.

As AirVorne Volleyball grows, we will continue to look for other ways to serve the volleyball community. The Atlanta volleyball community is like no other – combine your passion for volleyball and our Southern hospitality, and you’ll not only find yourself with a full volleyball schedule but lifelong friendships too.

Special thanks to those who have helped AirVorne be a success:

Jordan Robinson: Thanks to you and your services, AirVorne can reach volleyball community through www.airvorne.com. The website is the biggest tool in getting this business off the ground. Thank you, Jordan.

Deanna Dover: Your talent and creative mind has helped identify AirVorne Volleyball, LLC. The new logo that you created ensures that we are communicating a clear message to the volleyball community. Your design skills and clear presentation have made it easy for AirVorne. Thank you, D2.

Kim Dalimonte: The passion you have in the sport of volleyball is like no other especially when it comes to the kids. As Director of Youth Programs for AirVorne Volleyball, LLC, you are the perfect fit for this position and I look forward to growing this program with you. Your dedication and guidance as AirVorne Volleyball evolves from a club to a small business is greatly appreciated and I hope that you will continue to be involved with AirVorne Volleyball. You are the best, Kim…thank you for all your hard work.

If anyone has any questions/comments, please contact me via email. See you guys on the court…

Dennis Jocson
Director/Founder
AirVorne Volleyball, LLC.

It seems as if this has become the popular tournament format of the summer for AirVorne Volleyball with 14 teams registered this past Sunday, August 23rd. This is the second consecutive Coed Sand Tournament where teams had to head over to Piedmont Park for their pool play. There were many strong teams just like the last one. Pool play consisted of a single game to 25 points with no cap. At the end of pool play, the teams were then ranked as follows:

1. Chip Wallace / Kim Dalimonte
2. Shawn Dobanton / Amanda Dobanton
3. Chad Borton / Elaine Sha
4. David Ottmann / Chibuzo Aguocha
5. Rich Rainwater / Wendy Saltzman
6. Chris Burney / Megan Byrd
7. Darin Edler / Michelle Edler
8. Tim Carlson / Janice Fung
9. Howard Miles / Sarah Eveleth
10. Tracey Pressley / Nicole Nilson
11. Greg Baker / Judy Baker
12. Sean Allen / Becky Partee
13. Rod Spiller / Cheryl Spiller
14. Josh Mihm / Leah Horan

The first four places all received a ‘BYE’ in the first round of playoffs. Playoffs were one game to 25 points with no cap. The first round of playoffs consisted of the following match-ups/results:

#8 – Tim Carlson / Janice Fung defeated #9 – Howard Miles / Sarah Eveleth (25-20)
#7 – Darin Edler / Michelle Edler defeated #10 – Tracey Pressley / Nicole Nilson (25-16)
#11 – Greg Baker / Judy Baker defeated #6 – Chris Burney / Megan Byrd (25-22)
#5 – Rich Rainwater / Wendy Saltzman defeated #12 – Sean Allen / Becky Partee (25-16)
#13 – Rod Spiller / Cheryl Spiller lost to #12 – Sean Allen / Becky Partee in a qualifying match to the first round
#14 – Josh Mihm / Leah Horan only played pool play

In the Quarterfinals, the top seeds were ready play. The matches/results were as follows:

#1 – Chip Wallace / Kim Dalimonte defeated #8 – Tim Carlson / Janice Fung (25-19)
#2 – Shawn Dobanton / Amanda Dobanton defeated #5 – Rich Rainwater / Wendy Saltzman (25-9)
#3 – Chad Borton / Elaine Sha defeated #11 – Greg Baker / Judy Baker (25-14)
#4 – David Ottmann / Chibuzo Aguocha defeated #7 – Darin Edler / Michelle Edler (25-20)

No surprises here in the Quarterfinals…

In the Semi-finals, the top teams were set for a battle: #1 – Chip / Kim verses #4 – David / Chibuzo and #2 – Shawn / Amanda verses #3 – Chad / Elaine. These games were played point for point but in the end, the top seeds were defeated.

With David’s defense/experience and Chewy’s young aggressive athleticism, they were able to defeat the #1 seed of Chip / Kim (25-20). In the other semi-final, Chad and Elaine were back and ready to go all the way against the #2 seed and newlyweds of Shawn / Amanda. Shawn / Amanda were the powerhouse but the craftiness and desire of Chad / Elaine’s passion to win took them above and beyond as they defeated Shawn / Amanda (25-14).

So the finals were set as the #3 – Chad Borton / Elaine Sha verses #4 – David Ottmann / Chibuzo Aguocha. The crowd was set and ready to watch a great final to the end. It was game point 24-22 Chad / Elaine with them serving for the match. David / Chewy went point for point with Chad / Elaine. To find out what happens in the end of this match…see the video of match point.

Special thanks to Tim Carlson for hosting the after party at his place…thanks dude.

Please be sure to check out the photos from this tournament…good times.

For the next tournament in this series, please check back with AirVorne.com.

See you guys on the court…

Dennis Jocson
AirVorne Volleyball, LLC.

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It was back in 1996 when it all began…Beach Volleyball and the Olympics. It was 2009 when AirVorne Volleyball had its first tournament at Atlanta Beach. The time has come when the boys and the girls get to see each other play for the first time this summer. Lots of action and lots of good times for all especially for those who know our special surprise guest…Jen Bily – a long time resident of Atlanta now living in the Caymen Islands playing volleyball. There were three divisions at Atlanta Beach: Steve French with his Men’s Open Division and AirVorne Volleyball – Men’s “AA/A” Division and Women’s Division. There were a total of 39 teams all located in one large venue.

This is the 5th tournament in the Women’s Sand Series, and we had a total of 9 teams including two teams from Tennessee – Brittany Cook / Melissa Kilroy and Jen Stacy / Karime Binkley. After pool play was over the following teams were set to battle for the finals:

Court #1 – Sheila Gatlin / Laura Shamp received a ‘bye’ and were to ref the Tennessee teams of Jen Stacy / Karime Binkley verses Brittany Cook / Melissa Kilroy. In the end, Brittany / Melissa went on defeating their friends Jen / Karime (25-15).

Court #2 – Nicole Nilson / Elaine Sha received a ‘bye’ and were to ref Ada Dashwood / Amber Ramga verses Terrie O’Keefe / Jen Bily. Terrie and JB battled through their injuries but in the end lost to their friends Ada / Amber (25-14).

The semi-finals were set as Sheila / Laura battled Brittany / Melissa on Court #1 and Nicole / Elaine battled Ada / Amber for the finals. As it is every tournament, the ladies fought hard till the end. Sheila / Laura defeated Brittany / Melissa (25-21) and Nicole / Elaine squeezed through Ada / Amber (26-24).

The finals were set for a 2 out of 3 match…Sheila / Laura verses Nicole / Elaine. For Sheila, this is her 5th consecutive final for the summer…amazing. After a long fought match, Sheila / Laura defeated Nicole / Elaine (21-14, 21-13).

Congratulations to Sheila Gatlin and Laura Shamp for an amazing run to the finals!!!

JB – “It was great to see you out there on the sands again!!”

Special thanks to Venable Photography for taking some great action shots of the tournament…thanks, Will.

For the next tournament in this series, please check back with AirVorne.com.

See you guys on the court…

Dennis Jocson
AirVorne Volleyball, LLC.

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This was AirVorne’s largest Men’s ‘AA/A’ tournament for AirVorne Volleyball this summer. This tournament ran side by side with ATL Volleyball’s (Steve French) Men’s Open tournament. Teams from Athens, Georgia were coming down for this tournament and were ready to play some ball.

After pool play, all teams were ranked based off of their W/L record and then their Total Point Differential:

1. Tracey Pressley / David Holcombe
2. Hal Mobley / JC Goodwin
3. Rich O’Keefe / Tim Kreiner
4. Tommy Roper / Nathan Vaughn
5. Art Siegert / Kevin Porter
6. Bobby Mitchell, Sr. / Bobby Mitchell, Jr.
7. Tim Carlson / David Ottmann
8. Steve Bittle / Josh Mihm
9. Jared Williams / Kyle Peters
10. Michael Spence / Nathan Black
11. Will Goldin / Thomas Nguyen
12. Chris Thorn / Scott Ragan
13. David Moore / Dustin Stapelton
14. Kyle Turner / Cole Doherty
15. Jason Holbrook / Andy Patterson

Many teams that have played in previous AirVorne tournaments lost in the first round of play: Bobby, Sr. / Bobby, Jr., Tim / David, and Jared / Kyle. In the quarterfinals, the upsets continued as the #1 team of Tracey / Dave lost to veterans #8 – Steve / Josh (21-16) and #11 – Will / Thomas defeated #3 – Big Rich / Tim (21-15).

In the semi-finals, #2 – Hal / JC battled against the #11 – Will / Thomas and #5 – Art / Kevin battled against #8 – Steve / Josh. Shall I say it again…let the upsets continue – #11 – Will / Thomas defeated #2 – Hal / JC (21-16) and #8 – Steve / Josh defeated #5 – Art / Kevin (21-17).

The finals were set as the veteran team of Steve Bittle / Josh Mihm verses Will Goldin / Thomas Nguyen. Will was battling an injured shoulder all day long…could he last another game to win the tournament. Unfortunately, the veterans of Steve / Josh defeated Will / Thomas (21-14). If I had to guess what Steve and Josh’s secret to success for this tournament…one word comes to mind – SOCIALLLLLLL!!!

Congratulations to Steve Bittle and Josh Mihm!!! It was great to see you guys out there again to represent us veterans…SOCIALLLLLLL!!!

Special thanks to Venable Photography for taking some great action shots of the tournament…thanks, Will.

For the next tournament in this series, please check back with AirVorne.com.

See you guys on the court…

Dennis Jocson
AirVorne Volleyball, LLC.

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The tournament had 18 Reverse Coed teams that signed up for a long and hot day of grass volleyball. We had 4 Open and the rest were “AA/A” teams with a couple of BB teams mixed into the tournament. I decided to place everyone into one big pool so that everyone could get their play in. Good idea…not sure but I think it went well for the most part. At the end of pool play, we took the 4 Open teams and they battled for the top spot while the rest of the teams battle in a single elimination format.

Pool play consisted of 2 games to 21 points with a cap at 23 points. After a long day of pool play, the following teams were ranked according to the Division they registered for:

Open Division:
1. Wes Fincher / Alison Jaynes
2. Jon Beck / Nikki Cole
3. Dennis Jocson / Courtney Clark
4. Michael Scheblein / Courtney Eck

‘AA/A’ Division:
1. Duane Holben / Lisha Guschke
2. Britton Mockridge / Lucia DePretto
3. Chris ‘Cajun’ Allemand / Laura Benjamin
4. Dave Pitts / Liz Maxey
5. Josh Pittman / Jessica Crocker
6. Tracey Pressley / Jenny Schleisman
7. John Cuomo / Adi Garcia
8. Rob Dalaba / Michelle Polarek
9. Ken Holcomb / Chloe Oram
10. Peter St. Pierre / Kim Fletcher
11. Travis Hylbak / Pallavi Reddy

At the end of the tournament, the following teams stood victorious:

Open Division:
Congratulations to Jon Beck and Nikki Cole defeating Wes Fincher and Alison Jaynes…

‘AA/A’ Division:
Congratulations to Duane Holben and Lisha Guschke defeating Tracey Pressley and Jenny Schleisman…see championship point.

Check out the photos from the tournament on the Photo Page…

For the next tournament in this series, please check back with AirVorne.com.

See you guys on the court…

Dennis Jocson
AirVorne Volleyball, LLC.

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