Columbus day weekend proved to be an exciting weekend for gay sports nationwide, with tournaments in softball, football, and volleyball being held across the country. Representing San Diego in the Indianapolis Columbus Day Volleyball Tournament was the “BB” rated San Diego Tsunami, who took first place in the field of 16 teams.

The Tsunami went 5-3 in pool play on the first day of the tournament, defeating teams from Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Columbus along the way to earn their number two seeding in the tournament’s second day.

In double elimination play on day two of the tournament, San Diego went undefeated in four matches to face Louisville in the championship game. The Tsunami defeated Louisville in back-to-back games to win the match and take first place in the tournament.

“At that point they were so tired they weren’t any competition,” Tsunami team member Brad Coddington told the Gay and Lesbian Times about their victory over Louisville, who had spent the day battling their way through the losers bracket.

“We played exceptional defense,” he added. “All the other teams had a hard time hitting the balls down on us because we were digging them up. Louie Luevanos, he had some exceptional kills throughout the day. He was hitting them everywhere on the court and they couldn’t stop him.”

San Diego’s Edward Heller was unanimously voted the tournament MVP for his outstanding performance as the team’s setter.

This is the tenth season that the Tsunami has competed in the North American Gay Volleyball Alliance (NAGVA), with one of its founding members, Luevanos, still playing with the team. The majority of the team has come on board in the last two years.

“We play open ball on Wednesdays, Sundays and at the park,” Coddington said about recruitment for the team. “We pick up players that we felt would be good for our team that, one, we could get along with and two, that played at the level we were expecting and fit into our team as far as their skills and ability to play.”

The Tsunami will be traveling to Las Vegas, Nev., the weekend of Nov. 1 and 2 for another NAGVA-sponsored tournament. San Diego will host its annual volleyball tournament over Thanksgiving weekend.