Lieutenant spikes competition in v-ball tourney

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nestor Cruz
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  She looked across the battlefield and spotted six members of the enemy. In her mind she knew they were preparing to attack, but she was also prepared to return fire at a moment's notice.

Second Lt. Lindsay Bengard, 18th Contracting Squadron contract administrator, recently returned from winning a victory on the battlefield. This was not a deployment to a sand-covered location, but a temporary deployment to Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom, where she competed in the Component Commander Air North volleyball tournament as part of the U.S. Armed Forces Europe team. The women's team brought home the gold medal while the men's team claimed the bronze.

"It was an awesome experience, probably one of the best experiences I've ever had," said Lieutenant Bengard. "On the team, we had a mix of enlisted members and officers, people from all career fields and from all four military branches. We ended up meeting military members from other countries as well."

The lieutenant travelled a long road before reaching that momentous victory in England.

Lieutenant Bengard had been playing volleyball at the Air Force Academy for two years when a friend suggested she try out for the Air Force team. She sent in her application and was one of 20 applicants selected to try out for the team.

"We were flown to San Antonio and had tryouts for the first week," said Lieutenant Bengard.

She impressed the team coaches during tryouts and was picked to join the 10-member team.

The Air Force team practiced seven to eight hours a day for two and a half weeks before playing against sister services in the Armed Forces tournament. Based on her performance during the tournament, Lieutenant Bengard was chosen to join the Armed Forces team to play in the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (Council of International Military Sports) tournament last June in Warendorf, Germany.

"We played against Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada and China in the CISM tournament," said Lieutenant Bengard.

According to the contract administrator, the USAFE women's team dominated each game in the CC Air North tournament, defeating teams from the Netherlands, Belgium and England and propelling them to a final showdown with the German air force team in the championship round.

"In a regular match we had to win two out of three matches," Lieutenant Bengard said, "but we played a best-out-of-five game for the championship."

The German air force team proved to be a force to be reckoned with for the USAFE ladies.

"We would have preferred to win three in a row, but the German team was pretty tough and brought us into a fifth match," said Lieutenant Bengard. "We finally won the match by two points. It was very dramatic, but it was fun."

Lieutenant Bengard's talents helped drive the team to victory and earned her the title of Most Valuable Player for the tournament.

"Lieutenant Bengard was a force on the court at this year's CC Air North volleyball tournament," said Lani Kekahuna, USAFE women's coach. "Her skills as a dominant middle blocker allowed Lieutenant Bengard to shut down the opposition's big hitters, sparking teammates and audience alike. All in all, she brings leadership and dedication to the sport and it showed at this year's tournament."

The lieutenant said she recognizes how hard it is on her co-workers when she is gone and appreciates their support.

"The USAFE Women's Volleyball team results speak to the caliber of the individuals, which is why we approved her attending the European competition," said Maj. Ron Devlin, 18th CONS commander. "Lieutenant Bengard is arguably the best women's volleyball player in (Pacific Air Forces). She is a genuine winner and I could not be more proud of her representing PACAF in such fine fashion."

Never a person to rest on her proverbial laurels, Lieutenant Bengard re-applied for this year's Air Force team and was recently accepted to try out again in May.

In the meantime, the contract administrator keeps herself busy at work and on the court.

"I play weekly with a local Okinawan professional nine-man team in tournaments all over Okinawa," Lieutenant Bengard said. "One of my Okinawan co-workers plays with the team and introduced me to her team. The girls have really welcomed me and I've learned some Japanese since only two team members speak English."

The future of Lieutenant Bengard's volleyball career is uncertain, especially with the high operations tempo and low manning within her squadron. But the soon-to-be first lieutenant has no regrets of what she has already accomplished.

"Playing for the Air Force and Armed Forces teams is a great opportunity," Lieutenant Bengard said. "For anyone who has played in any sport I would definitely recommend applying for the Air Force team and working with their chain of command to be able to do something like that. It's definitely something I'll look back on for the rest of my life."