Stuttgart’s Liam Coan has noticed how tight the gap between top to bottom has been this fall.

Newcomer Wiesbaden has scored victories over Ramstein and the Panthers, the top two seeds of the 2026 DODEA Division I boys volleyball championship Thursday through Saturday in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.

Lakenheath took a match from the first-seeded Royals on their home floor, while SHAPE went 2-1 against the Lancers and 1-1 vs. the Warriors.

The lesson: Nobody can sleep on anybody during a three-set, round-robin format in which all six teams will square off with each other over the first two days at Kaiserslautern High School.

The top four teams advance to the semifinals Friday evening, with the winners of those matches playing at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Ramstein High School.

“We know we can’t look at a singular team and think, ‘Oh, it’s going to be an easy win. OK, we can take some time off,’” Coan said. “We need to make sure that we keep (the right mentality) the whole competition, and we need to make sure we don’t faulter in the face of adversity from those other teams.”

Coan praised players such as Lakenheath’s Jaylon Gatewood, Wiesbaden’s Randall Redeen and Ty Waldron and SHAPE libero Liam Hemmes as leading the rise in the other programs.

What it has led to is a more exciting tournament, Ramstein libero Hayden Negrillo-Lopez said. It also highlights the rise of boys volleyball north of the Alps.

“Everyone’s more equal now, which is great because we get to play with everyone at the same level,” he said.

The Panthers know all about surprising the field.

In the program’s first varsity season, Stuttgart put together a postseason run to remember, winning the 2025 North championship in a five-set thriller over Ramstein.

While still having success over the regular season, the Panthers have faced their struggles keeping up their energy, and that will be tested with three matches on Thursday and back-to-back contests to finish round-robin action Friday.

“It was hard for us this season to have that foot on the gas throughout the whole game, throughout the whole two games, the whole weekend,” Josiah Sinco said. “It took a heavy toll on us in games, before games, after games.

“To go for that (repeat), we need to stay strong mentally, physically and together.”

The Royals, meanwhile, have last year’s defeat on the back of their minds.

But both Negrillo-Lopez and Daniel Torres said they and their teammates can let their emotions get the best of them. They must avoid that to bring home the trophy this weekend.

“A lot of our players, in the middle of games, need to find a moment of peace, a moment of rest,” Torres said. “That can definitely impact the players because one (mistake) turns into two, turns into three, and they are not the player they usually are because of their mentality.”

Division II tournament

Mentality is a strength for Rota, Admirals junior captain Jon Valenzuela said.

And the Admirals will need that to win the Division II tournament Thursday through Friday in Vicenza, Italy.

They enter the competition as the second seed, one season after missing out at on the European tournament despite going 10-1 during the regular season.

“We don’t crash under pressure,” Valenzuela said of this year’s squad. “It’s going to be a challenge, and next-point mentality is going to push us through.”

Rota (12-2) faces a tough field that includes powerhouse Black Forest Academy, which is undefeated so far this season; typically strong Naples and Vicenza squads; and a surging Hohenfels team that seems to be enjoying life among the smaller schools.

The Admirals handled those teams except for BFA. The Falcons swept them at home 27-29, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 15-7 and 28-26, 26-24, 19-25, 25-13 on Oct. 9-10.

Valenzuela said the team was missing two starters, causing the Admirals to discover their depth that helped push the Falcons. He especially pointed to Aiden Taylor, a defensive specialist who played front row in those matchups.

“We’ve learned how to rotate people into different positions,” Valenzuela said. “We’ve been practicing just in case if any starters are missing during champs that we have a strong team even with them out.”