Not much has changed for the Utah Stinger’s lineup from last year, with all players who competed in the Salt Lake City Championships returning this year. With solid team chemistry, the team had no issues going 3-0 on the weekend. However, the Stingers can contribute some of their success to their new outside hitter Inovel Romero Valdés.

In his first appearance with the Cuban National team at 17 years old, Inovel helped get the team a 3rd place finish in the 2012 World League. Romero competed with Cuba in the U19 World Championships, World Championships, Pan American Cup, Central American and Caribbean Games, and the NORCECA Champions Cup. After attending college at the Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Inovel has had a solid career overseas in Lebanon, Bahrain, Puerto Rico, and France. With his teams, he finished 2nd in the Lebanese 1st Division (Tannourine Club), 3rd in the Bahrain league and 2nd in the Gulf Clubs Championships (Dar Kulaib), 1st in the Puerto Rican League (Mets de Guaynabo), and then 9th in the French A Ligue this last year (Arago de Sete).

Already this season with the NVA, Inovel has scored 25 kills (hitting 43% efficiency), one block, passed 96% perfect reception and is ranked 7th for serving in the league with five aces. Even as he gets his feet wet in the league and works on developing his connection with his new team, everything has looked easy for Inovel on the court. Romero was still blasting balls well above the block with leisurely approaches and defensive moves and made the most brutal swings and serves to look like nothing with his defense. As Inovel continues to warm up this season, fans and the league can expect big things from the Cuban this season. The Stingers look to repeat last year’s success. 

To catch up on all the Event 1 matches and see Inovel Romero in action on the court, head on over to Youtube at NVA USA. Fans can also head on over the NVA News page to read a written recap of all three of the Stinger’s matches. Don’t forget to follow Inovel (@inovelromero_15), the Utah Stingers (@stingersnvausa), and the NVA (@nvausa) on Instagram and Facebook to get weekly updates of the team and your favorite players.

Day 1, Match #5 

Stingers Start Slow But Defeat Matadors In 4 Sets

Matadors came out hot in the first set and took an early lead, which they kept throughout the first set. OPP Jacob Vander Beek was the spark plug for the Matadors with his 3 kills and defensive digs. Good play by the Libero, Jose Mulero, helped keep the Matadors in system and also helped them play well in transition to secure a 25-20 win. 

In the second set the Matadors continued their strong play early in the set. Kills by Matador MB Martin Petris kept the score close early in the set. But at 9-9 Stingers kicked up their game with strong play from OH Jake Langlois, OH Inovel Romero and OPP Jorge Mencia. Matadors attempted a comeback after a block at 18-17 but a Stingers kills by Romero and Mencia extended the lead to four points and they won the set 25-20. 

In the third set the Stingers’ steady play and service run by Langlois, which included an ace, built a three point lead of 7-4. Then back-to-back Stinger hitting errors and kills by Petris, OH Mauro Issac and Carlos Serrano cut the lead to 13-11. But Langlois’ steady play that included a variety of kill shots kept the Matadors from mounting a comeback. Stingers won the set 25-20.

In set number 4 the Stingers pulled away at 6-6. Setter Leo Durkin, who did a great job setting the ball in good locations for his attackers to hit, continued to share the wealth with his hitters and OPP to close out the match at 25-14. For the Matadors Petis led with 10 kills, Vander Beek and Isaac 6 kills and Serrano 5 kills. Langois led the Stingers with 15 kills, Mencia 10, Romero, 8 and MB Alex Shmelev, 5 and MB Rusty Lavaja, 4. 

Day 2, Match #4

Stingers Shut Down Tornadoes In 3 Sets 

While the Stingers started off well with Leo Durkin setting balls for kills by Jorge Mencia, Alex Shmelev, Cory Metcalf and Novel Romero, the Tornadoes struggled with hitting errors and fell behind early 8-4. The Tornadoes picked up their play with kills by Aaron King and an ace by Luis Vasquez to cut the lead to 11-9. The Stingers answered with kills by Paul Clark and Romero but then a series of Stinger hitting errors relinquished the lead to the Tornadoes at 16-12. After the media timeout the Stingers substituted setter Hamilton Day for Durkin. Unfortunately the Tornadoes’ hitters couldn’t find the court. They committed a slew of errors, which gave the Stingers free points to gain back the lead at 20-13. The Tornadoes only scored two more points on a Stinger hitting error and kill by King. The Stingers scored five of the last seven points from kills by Clark and Carson Henninger, and block by Shmelev. Clark scored a service ace on the last point to secure the set win for the Stingers 25-15.

In set two the Stingers started Chandler Baugh at Libero.  The Tornadoes struggled to find the court and a block by Romero gave the Stingers 4-0 lead. Tornadoes scored their first point on a service error by Clark at 4-1, then followed up with the first real point from a Hernandez kill. A stinger service and hitting error gave Tornadoes two more points. During this stretch Stingers scored points on kills by Clark, Mencia and Shmelev to build an 8-4 lead. After the timeout the Tornadoes continued with their hitting errors. Clark had three consecutive kills that increased the Stingers’ lead to 12-5. The Tornadoes finally started to side out with kills by setter Brady Castillo, Eduardo Hernandez, King and block by Patrick Moscicki but a run of kills by Romero kept the Stingers’ lead at 16-11. At 22-17 the Tornadoes scored their last point of the set on an ace by Vasquez. The Stingers closed the set with three straight points on Tornadoes’ service and hitting errors and ended the set on a service ace by Stingers’ Shmelev to win 25-18.

In set three both teams scored on each other’s service or hitting errors on the first six points. Metcalf scored the first real point to give the Stingers a 4-3 lead. The Tornadoes captured their first lead of the match from a kill and block by Moscicki to 6-4 but the Stingers’ took back the lead from a Tornadoes hitting error, ace by Romero and kill by Metcalf to 8-6. Tornadoes rallied back to tie at 12-12 on hitting errors by the Stingers and kill and blocks by Eduardo Hernandez and kill by Moscicki and then took the lead back at 16-15 on a Hernandez kill. Tornadoes added to their lead on another Hernandez kill to 17-15. Stingers answered with kills by Clark and Shmelev; and back to back Shmelev blocks and tied the set at 19-19. Both teams sided out well with kills by Hernandez, block by King and Moscicki for the Tornadoes; and kills by Clark, Romero and Metcalf and block by Shmelev for the Stingers. Stingers closed out the match with the last two points on a Romero ace and a Metcalf kill for a 26-24 win.

For the Tornadoes Hernandez had 6 kills and Vasquez and King had 4 kills; and team hitting was 29%. For the Stingers Romero led all players with 11 kills, Clark with 10 kills, Metcalf 6 and Henninger 5 kills; and team hitting was 46%. 

Day 3, Match #1

Stingers Scored Points When It Counted to Overcome Valiant Effort by Tyrants

Both teams started the match with error free volleyball. Tyrants established the middle with Ryan Maune who scored their first two points. Stingers countered with middle blocker, Rusty Lavaja and Jake Langlois. Despite Tyrants’ kills by Gianluca Grasso and Anthony Robinson, two Tyrants’ service errors and Stingers’ kills by Jorge Mencia, Novel Romero, Lavaja and a Leo Durkin block gave the Stingers a three point lead before the media timeout 8-5. A string of errors by the Tyrants helped the the Stingers add to their lead after kills by Mencia and Langlois 11-6. But Tyrants rallied back with a block by Robinson and service aces from Grasso and Maune to cut the lead to 13-12. After a Johnson net, the Stingers with strong serves forced the Tyrants to play out of system and increased their lead again with two kills from Romero, one by Mencia and a Langlois block to 20-15. The Tyrants attempted a comeback with a short rally on two kills by Robinson, one by Grasso and Lovett block. Stingers countered with kills and block by Langlois; and then closed out the set with a Lavaja block for a 25-21 win. 

In set two Tyrants started strong and took a 6-5 lead with a Grasso ace and kill and two kills by Robinson. Stingers countered with Langlois, two consecutive middle block kills by Alex Shmelev and kill by Mencia. Stingers struggled with their passing and gave the Tyrants opportunities to score points from a couple of free and down balls. Kills by Johnson and middle blocker Austen Lovett, followed by a Lovett ace and Robinson block gave Tyrants a 9-6 lead. Tyrants sided out well and kept their lead. One of the highlights of the match occurred at 12-9. After a coverage dig on a Stingers block Durkin set Langlois but instead of spiking the ball he jump set back to Durkin for a rare setter kill. Nevertheless, the Tyrants added to their lead before the second media timeout at 16-12. At 18-15 after Tyrants couldn’t side out, kills by Romero, Mencia and Langlois sparked a Stingers comeback to tie 18-18. After both teams sided-out to 25-25, Stingers closed out the set with a behind the head spike by Langlois and Johnson error to 27-25. 

Like set two the Tyrants took an early 8-7 lead in the third set with kills by Grasso, Daniel Jacobs and Robinson. Stringers countered with kills by Langlois, Mencia and Shmelev, who also added a block. At 14-12 consecutive blocks by Shmelev helped the Stingers launch a comeback to tie 16-16. Tyrants and Stingers exchanged leads with kills by Robinson, Grasso and Johnson for the Tyrants; and Mencia, Romero, Langlois and Lavaja for the Stingers. At 19-19 a Tyrants’ error and Lavaja block gave the Stingers a 21-19 lead. Stingers won the match 25-22 after a Lavaja and Langlois kill.

For the Tyrants Grasso led his team with 11 kills, Johnson 9, and Robinson and Jacobs with 6 each. Tyrants had 7 blocks and hit 45%. The stingers were led by Langlois with 14 kills, Mencia 9, Lavaja 7, Romero 6 and Shmelev 5. Stingers had 5 blocks and hit 51%. The Stingers finished the weekend event with a record of 3-0 while the Tyrants finished 1-2. 

As professional athletes, health and wellness is a priority for us Utah Stingers, and there has been no one that has prioritized our health and wellness more than our sponsor 4Life. Established in 1998, 4Life is a supplement company that through years of professional and academic research, focuses on boosting the individuals immune system to allow them to carry out their daily tasks with confidence that their immune system is ready to battle anything. 4Life Transfer Factor Science encompasses the research, technology, and innovation of products that educate your immune cells, supporting your immune system’s ability to recognize, respond to, and remember potential threats. 4Life Transfer Factor products are patented, certified, and highly researched. 4Life Transfer Factor is sourced in three proprietary ways to provide a wide range of personal immune system support. 4Life offers three main products to ensure a healthy lifestyle UltraFactor XF is a proprietary concentrate of ultra-filtered 4Life Transfer Factor proteins and other peptides from cow colostrum, OvoFactor is a patent-protected concentration of 4Life Transfer Factor proteins and other peptides from chicken egg yolk, and NanoFactor® is a proprietary concentration of nano-filtered cow colostrum. What is the science and history behind 4Life? Well in 1949, Dr. H. Sherwood Lawrence, a New York University immunologist, determined that an immune system response could be transferred from a donor to a recipient through a white blood cell extract. He concluded that these extracts contained a “factor” capable of transferring the donor’s immunity information to the recipient. Dr. Lawrence subsequently coined the term “transfer factor.” In 1998, 4Life Founders David and Bianca Lisonbee licensed the patent to extract transfer factors from cow colostrum. The introduction of 4Life Transfer Factor® Classic opened the door to new immune system support products. 4Life’s commitment to transfer factor research has progressively raised the standard for modern-day immune system supplementation.* What are transfer factors? Unlike many supplements you find in health food stores, transfer factors aren’t vitamins, minerals, or herbs (substances that add nutrients to your body). Transfer factors are molecules that transfer immune system memory and knowledge from one entity to another. Transfer Factor science is part of ground-breaking innovation for immune system support. Thank you to 4Life for all their previous support in the years and thank you for the support going forward. If anyone is interested in boosting their immune system, please find 4Life at www.4Life.com and ask about all the services and products offered!

November 5, 2020 Match #5 Stingers Vs Tyrants

Stingers Swarm Tyrants in 3 Sets

Set #1 – Stingers 26, Tyrants 24

Tyrants jumped out to a 3-0 lead from 2 kills and a Stingers’ hitting error. Stingers countered quickly with a side-out and block point to reduce the Tyrants lead to 5-3. The Tyrants increased their lead from 9-6 to 15-8 after a dig, kill and block point and Stingers’ hitting error and over pass kill. Stingers finally stopped the bleeding at 15-9. But the Tyrants increased their lead on a block point to 17-10. Stingers scored three consecutive points back on a two kills and a block and rallied to 19-16. But the Tyrants answered with a side-out, block and Stingers’ hitting error to increase their lead again to 22-16. Stingers followed up with a 3-point run from two kills and a Tyrants’ hitting error to reduce the lead to 23-22. A Stinger service error gave the Tyrants a 24-23 lead. But the Stingers rallied to take a 25-24 lead after a Tyrants’ service error and a block. Both teams sided out and then the Stingers won the set point on a block.

Stingers  – 13 Kills, 5 Block Points and 8 Opponent Errors; 88% Reception and 45% Hitting.

Tyrants – 2 Aces, 13 Kills, 4 Block Points and 5 Opponent Errors; 87% Reception and 46% Hitting.

Set # 2 – Stingers 25, Tyrants 21

The Stingers jumped out to a 4-0 lead from 3 kills and a Tyrants’ hitting error. Another Tyrants’ hitting error increased the Stingers’ lead to 6-1. But the Tyrants bounce back with 3 consecutive points to 6-4. Stingers sided out and score two more points off a block, Tyrants’ hitting error and an ace  to take a 11-5 lead. Stingers continued to increase their lead to 14-6 with two kills. Tyrants rallied with good defense and kills and an ace to cut the lead to 17-15. Stingers quickly countered with a solid kill to 18-16. Then, increased their lead to 21-16 with three consecutive kills. Tyrants rallied back to 22-19. But the Stingers scored two consecutive points to 24-19. Tyrants sided out and then scored on their serve 24-21. Stingers won the set with a kill.

Stingers  – 1 Ace, 12 Kills, 1 Block Point and 11 Opponent Errors; 81% Reception and 40% Hitting.

Tyrants – 1 Aces, 12 Kills, 2 Block Points and 6 Opponent Errors; 87% Reception and 46% Hitting.

Set #3 – Stingers 25, Tyrants 21

Tyrants took an early one point lead 4-3. At 7-7 the Stingers scored a point on a Tyrant hitting error to take the lead 8-7. The Tyrants tied it at 9-9 and took the lead with a block and followed up with two kills off the block to extend their lead to 12-9. Stingers countered with two clean kills and one off the block to tie the set 12-12. The Stinger rally ended on a hitting error that gave the Tyrants a one point lead at13-12. Stingers bounce back with two consecutive kills and took the lead 14-13. At 15-15 Tyrants regained the lead on a clean kill at 16-15. Both teams continued to side-out until 19-19 and then the Stingers’ took the lead on a kill 21-19. Tyrants called a time out to regroup and sided-out with a kill and then tied the game with a block point 21-21. Stingers counter with a clean kill 22-21, followed it with another kill and took a 23-21 lead. A Tyrant’s hitting error sets up set and match point at 24-21. The set and match ends with a Stingers’ block point.

Stingers  – 1 Ace, 18 Kills, 5 Block Points and 8 Opponent Errors; 94% Reception and 64% Hitting.

Tyrants – 2 Aces, 13 Kills, 1 Block Points and 5 Opponent Errors; 100% Reception and 52% Hitting.

As one of the Utah Stingers’ youngest members, Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga already has an impressive resume; playing for the US Men’s Junior National Team, competing in the 2014 NORCECA Men’s U21 Continental Championships, and serving as a key player for BYU from 2017-2019. In addition to his volleyball prowess, and prior to all of those accolades, Storm was  an accomplished track-and-field athlete, competing in the 100m, long jump, and high jump. With the two sport seasons, volleyball and track, coinciding in Spring, Storm eventually had to make a decision on his future. He eventually chose volleyball after some encouragement from his family and friends, and he has definitely reaped the benefits of that decision. 

As a two-time League Champion at Lakewood Highschool, Storm never had an offseason, spending summers training at the beach with his dad during the day and then playing at open gyms in the evenings. His hard work paid off as he helped lead his SCVC team to a second-place finish in the 2013 Junior National Championships.

After a standout high school and club career, Storm attended BYU where, during his first two years, he traveled to Retalhuleu, Guatemala, for his mission of service. When he returned, he was a consistent starter for the powerhouse NCAA Men’s program, having his best year in 2018 where he racked up 194 kills. Sadly, Storm was forced into an early medical retirement before his final season of eligibility, taking some time to recover before deciding to play again and joining the Stingers. Since taking his mission trip early, Storm still has two years left of school despite no longer playing with the Cougars.

“College has been amazing but also very challenging. I love my degree in Exercise and Wellness,” Fa’agata-Tufuga commented.

Since the pandemic, Storm has maintained a relaxed and laid-back lifestyle focusing on school and spending time with the family. His quarantine activities have included playing Rugby with the family, listening to music, watching anime, and some clips of his favorite player Yuki Ishikawa on the Japan Men’s National Team. Be sure to catch Storm and the rest of the Utah Stingers on the court this season!