Photos by Tina Ray/Paraglide Teams enjoy a volleyball game, Friday, at Pope Fitness Center. The games are played Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at the center on Armistead Street and brings together male and female players of different backgrounds.

For Karina Makeyeva Suh, playing volleyball weekly at Pope Fitness Center is about more than the game.

“It’s a good way to release the stress from long working hours and it’s a good way to communicate with people of other nationalities,” said Suh, who is a native of the Ukraine and an Army spouse.

Suh is one of many who participate in volleyball at Pope Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings.
“I like the atmosphere here because people are so friendly,” said Suh, who has been playing volleyball since arriving on Fort Bragg in July.

Most of the players Friday were of American Samoan descent, so Pope has become a sort of gathering place for sharing a game that is beloved on the island.

“This is one of the sports we take to heart because we all love volleyball,” said Pati Jake Tiumalu, 28, also an Army spouse. “It’s very important; it’s just like rugby — every time there’s a Samoan and they hear there’s volleyball or rugby going on, they are going to show up,” he said.

Jonnsie Isumu, 22, another Army spouse, enjoys the sport and the camaraderie.

“I just love meeting new people,” she said.

Playing volleyball helps the time to pass while her husband is deployed to Iraq, she said.

The daughter of an Army Reservist, Felicia Aliksa said she enjoys evening volleyball because it pits men and women against each other. No distinction is made between men’s play and women’s play.

“I like playing with both male and female,” she said. “It sucks getting hit by the guys, but it’s just part of the game, which is what I love about it.”

Games feature six players per team, said Tiumalu. The team who reaches a score of 25 first, wins the game. Often, there are at least four teams waiting to play and occasionally, as many as 15, he said.

It would seem that for those interested in volleyball, Pope Fitness Center is the place to be. The facility is located in Building 402, Armistead Street.

For more information, visit www.fortbraggmwr.com or call 394-2671.

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