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A Bakersfield volleyball team took home the big prize at a national tournament in Reno.

Club Jamba defeated an Orange County team in three games, taking home the first place trophy in the 14-year-old division. 

            The “Volleyball Festival”, as it is called, was created 25 years ago as a west coast alternative to the Jr. Olympics.  The Jamba 14’s team is coached by Jodi Parks.  Jamba was the number one seed going into the tournament and held that ranking throughout the five-day tournament.

            The final score in the three-game match with the Saddleback Valley Volleyball Club was 16-25, 25-23 and 15-12.

            This was one of the most successful years for Bakersfield’s Club Jamba.  The 12-year old team, coached by Kathy Jackson, took second place in their division--and several of Jamba’s other teams placed in the top twenty.

            Nearly seven hundred teams from the U.S. and countries such as Canada and Puerto Rico competed in the different age divisions from ages 12 through 18.  The “Volleyball Festival” is billed as the largest annual sporting event in the world.  The founders of the tournament wanted a “Jr. Olympics” type tournament on the west coast since a majority of the sport’s top athletes live in California.