Aalto-Volley recreational "mixer" tournament

Was the first official tournament hosted by Aalto-Volley in the history of the club!

The tournament was held on Sunday Oct 6th between 3-9PM and hosted 29 participants (2 cancellations) and 6 tournament officials. The participants were divided randomly into a total of 5 teams, and the officials were divided evenly to fill every team with at least 6 players.

Format

On signup, players would choose the most fitting pool from the following three options:

• Recreational / Intermediate (D)

• (Upper) Intermediate (C)

• Advanced Upper Intermediate (B)

These pools were matched with the original Skill level descriptions written during autumn 2024.

The players were then distributed evenly into teams that were as equally matched as possible, and played a full tournament against each other. The objective was to meet new people and play lots of volleyball!

The rating and sorting algorithm was later enhanced and put to use on the club's casual shifts.

#1: Mursu

Mursu, a team that got its name from 'just a funny Finnish word', heavily outperformed the other teams, winning 6/8 played sets and racking up a +30 point differential. Victory earned!

Top row: Leo Koponen, Jaron Rau, Ammar Algayal, Georgios Fanourakis
Bottom row: Mariam Moustafa, Pauli Pirinen

#2: Every Point Matters

EPM won 5/8 sets but went -3 on the point differential. No worries - sets matter more (ironically...) - and the team got their second place!

Left to right: Ilia Zalesskii, Vinh Nguyen, Vilma Judin, Hermanni Huhtamäki, Melih Akar

#3: Les Ratz

The 3rd and 4th places were incredibly close. Sets were equal (4/8), and the point difference was equal (+5). So the victor came down to a technicality - performance in the match between the two teams, where Les Ratz won both sets with a two-point differential.

Top row: Tri Do, Erha Rhodz Madriaga, Elias Huang, Ville Tjeder
Bottom row: Riza Mahini

#4: Karasuno

So close to being on the podium, but unfortunately not this time. With a well fought 4/8 sets won and a +5 point differential, the team could still go home with their heads held high!

Top row: Elijah Mark Garcia, Jeferson Delgado Florez, Nikolay Efimov, Adame Vuorio
Bottom row: Mariia Khilkova, Anna Reziapova

#5: Dragonball

With a finishing score of 1/8 sets won and -37 point differential, the team was awarded with the highest cheer award.

Top row: Calupaz Kayla, Sales Gabriel Lopes, Axel Aaltonen, Jesper Edström, Stiven Idehen
Bottom row: Pooja-Lina Sandell

Special Category Awards

Each tournament official was given a special category with which to award a single player from any team within the tournament. The categories are listed below (left to right in the picture).

Roughest server: Hermanni Huhtamäki
Nominating official: Antti Karjasilta
Awarded to a player who used their serves to consistently put the pressure onto the opponent.

Monster block: Riza Mahini
Nominating official: Marcus Myllyviita
Awarded to a player who did the single most impactful block in the tournament.

Epic save: Ville Tjeder
Nominating official: Elijah Mark Garcia
Awarded to a player who did the single most impactful save (pancake) in the tournament.

Toughest attacker: Erha Rhodz Madriaga
Nominating official: Tapio Leppänen
Awarded to a player whose attacks were consistently too difficult to defend.

Greatest communicator: Kayla Calupaz
Nominating official: Gabrielle Laurent
Awarded to a player who kept their team in the game both during and outside of rallies.

Player of the tournament: Ammar Algayal
Nominating official: Sauli Kokkonen
Awarded to a player with the most commendable display of performance, sportsmanship, and volleyball spirit.