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Wizards use their feet to lend a hand in charity volleyball match
By BOB LUDERThe Kansas City Star
It may have been Andrew Kartunen’s greatest shot ever with a soccer ball, but then, he’s only a goalkeeper. Back to the net, facing the south wall of a packed Karl J. Schneider Memorial Gymnasium at St. Pius X High School, Kartunen ricocheted a hard shot with his right foot high off the wall, over his head and over the net for a clean winner.
Just another day at a Wizards charity exhibition soccer-volleyball event.
“We were talking before it started about shooting with our backs to the net,” said Kartunen, a Major League Soccer goalkeeper currently assigned to the Wizards. “It just happened.
“It’s just important for us to make this not only fun for us, but for everybody watching.”
Mission accomplished. Tuesday afternoon was the latest in a series of exhibitions featuring Wizards players in which they utilize their soccer skills in a volleyball setting. Money raised in these events goes toward a charity of the host school’s choice. In this instance, St. Pius X raised money for Eurosport, which provides sporting equipment to children in developing countries.
It also provides for a wild, entertaining hour of juggling soccer balls, flicking shots with back heels and heading balls over a volleyball net. The Wizards players — in this instance Kartunen and starters Kurt Morsink, Chance Myers and Roger Espinoza — couldn’t use their hands. But they did have a couple of advantages built in to the rules.
They could knock the ball among them as many times as they needed as long as it didn’t touch the floor, while the opposition — St. Pius X students who entered a raffle to get picked to play — had to send a ball over by the third touch. They also used a soccer ball, not a softer, lighter volleyball.
Of course, it was just four Wizards against six students. Still, the Wizards came out strong and took game one of the best-of-three series 15-5.
“We were humiliated,” Pius freshman Matthew Doetzl said. “But that was fun.”
Fellow freshman Ryan Diels added, “It’s ridiculous how good these guys are. I certainly never thought I’d be playing volleyball with the Wizards.”
Game two featured a change in teams for the Pius students, and a pair of ringers in the form of two 6-foot-2 seniors with some volleyball experience. The result? They took to setting the ball and spiking hard winners that the Wizards had little chance to get their feet on. Myers did get a loud roar from the crowd once when he leaped high and blocked a spike attempt with the side of his head. But the game went to Pius 15-7.
“Height helps,” 6-2 senior spiker Damon Arrendondo said. “Not to mention being able to use our hands.”
Unfortunately, Arrendondo and fellow tall spiker Spencer Sobba were switched out for another team for game three, and the Wizards again seized the momentum. Despite the Pius faithful chanting hard for another freshman-laden team, the Wizards rolled to a 15-6 win.
It was obvious the kids at St. Pius X, who waited in line for up to 30 minutes following the match to get autographs and pictures taken (especially with rookie pin-up Myers, who was in high demand for photos with countless young ladies), had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
It seemed to do wonders for the Wizards players as well, especially Morsink, who admitted to having a bad day up to that point.
“To be honest, any time you have a tough day at the office, you look for something like this,” he said. “It puts in perspective how lucky we are.
“We feel we’re a sports team people can most relate to. If we can make somebody’s day in a way that makes them laugh or have some fun, we’re more than ready to do that.”