Inaugural 4 Starz v-ball tourney underway

The Inaugural 4 Starz Fall Fest Volleyball Tournament 2024 is underway with their opening day of games last Monday at the Agape Gymnasium.

The tourney is played this whole week until Saturday, Aug. 31, with the men’s and women’s playoffs and championships set for that day.

In last Monday’s games on Court 1, The Bomba beat Agape 1, 25-21; Bench Warmers shot down Bikini Bangers, 25-16; Agape 1 edged Oasis, 25-14; 4 Starz silenced Tan Holdings, 25-11; Bench Warmers took down Fall Guys, 25-21; 4 Starz routed PIC Block Party, 25-19; Bikini Bangers overcame Chura, 25-20; and Fall Guys notched a win over Black Label, 25-11.

Then on Court 2, Rice Cracker drenched Oasis, 25-11; Tan Holdings just managed to slip past Agape 2, 28-26; The Bomba exploded, 25-20, over Rice Cracker; Agape 2 came back to win over PIC Block Party, 25-15; Agape 1 outlasted Rice Cracker, 26-25; Chura broke Black Label, 25-16; The Bomba drowned Oasis, 26-24; and Tan Holdings overpowered PIC Block Party, 25-12.

The men’s teams include Bench Warmers, Bikini Bangers, Fall Guys, Chura, Black Label, The Bomba, Rice Crackers, Agape 1, Oasis, 4 Starz, Tan Holdings, PIC Block Party, and Agape 2. The women’s teams consist of Wave Riders, Lady Starz, Agape, Kiss My Ace, and Tan Holdings Volleybabez.

The tourney consists of two phases—the preliminary phase in which the 13 teams in the men’s division are divided into three pools (A with five teams, B with four teams and C with four teams).

Every team within the pool will play against each other twice or thrice, one set, and best to 25 points. A cross play within B and C will occur challenging within.

The Top 2 teams from each pool and the two best third from will advance to the final phase. As a guide, a ranking system is in place to arrive at the final bracket of the quarter finals. Only eight teams will advance.

For the women’s division of five teams, there are also two phases. The preliminary phase in which the five teams will play against each other once, best of three sets up to 25 points.

The Top 4 teams will advance to the Final Phase. As a guide, a ranking system is in place to arrive at the final bracket of the semifinals. Only four teams will advance to playoffs

4 Starz is a volleyball group that was formed last year, with an homage to its president’s roots from the Federated States of Micronesia and Japan—hence the four stars within the sun of Japan’s flag in their logo. The four stars represent the four states—Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Yap.

In an interview during the tourney, the group’s president and tournament organizer, Nak Nakashima, said that the turnout of their first ever tourney was a success and came as a surprise—with 13 men’s teams and five women’s teams vying for a spot in the championship round.

He said the purpose of the tourney was to bring back indoor volleyball to the island. “We really want to play volleyball… and we’re focused mostly on bringing back the sport. It’s not really that active so that was our first focus—to bring back to sport,” he said.

The Agape Gymnasium also hosts an open gym on Monday and Friday nights, and Nakashima said that they have players as young as 13 ask them when the next tournament is. “So, my wife kept pushing to start a tournament, and I said sure, let’s try,” he said.

He then said, “I appreciate pastor [Kok] H. Pang of Agape Christian School for the open gym and for setting aside dates just for the weeklong tournament.”