{"id":2144069,"date":"2025-11-09T06:47:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T06:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2144069"},"modified":"2025-11-09T06:47:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T06:47:30","slug":"royals-back-on-top-of-large-school-throne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/royals-back-on-top-of-large-school-throne\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals back on top of large-school throne"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tStuttgart middle blocker Peyton Mannin, right, blocks a spike from Ramstein’s Ella Yost while teammate Alexandria Lyles leaps at the net during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n


\n \n \n \n \n <\/symbol>\n \n \n \n <\/path><\/symbol>\n \n \n \n <\/symbol>\n \n \n \n \n <\/symbol>\n \n \n \n <\/symbol>\n \n \n \n <\/symbol>\n<\/svg> <\/p>\n

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany \u2013 The Ramstein Royals were eager to party toward the end of their championship match against Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon. <\/p>\n

Perhaps too eager. <\/p>\n

Royal junior Ella Yost stepped up to the line with match point at the 2025 DODEA Division I European championships at Ramstein High School and launched a dangerous serve to the other side. <\/p>\n

Originally, the Ramstein players believed they had won after the ball took a bad bounce off a Stuttgart player and began to celebrate. Yet the Panthers kept playing and sent the ball back over the net. <\/p>\n

The Royals stopped for a moment of panic, only for the euphoria to resume as the ball hit out of bounds, sealing a 25-21, 20-25, 25-13, 25-20 victory. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was ready to get this game over with and get the win,\u201d Yost said. \u201cWe were ready to take home a championship.\u201d <\/p>\n

The reason for the celebration: The Royals clinched their first European title since 2019. <\/p>\n

The six-year drought was littered with numerous near misses, none closer than the 2023 final that saw the Royals fall just a couple of points short against Wiesbaden. <\/p>\n

Senior Amayah Payton was one of the few players left from that match. She recalled the deflated feeling following that loss. The 5-foot-6 outside hitter said her team was motivated by that experience as well as entering the European tournament as the fourth and final seed. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s long overdue,\u201d Payton said. \u201cFinally getting to the championship and winning my senior year is amazing. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, nobody thought Ramstein was going to come out on top. We\u2019re showing everyone that we came to win.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Ramstein<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tRamstein players, from left, Ella Yost, Noelle Murphy, Amayah Payton, Emilie Edwards and Isabella Johnson during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match against Stuttgart on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Emilie<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tRamstein freshman Emilie Edwards sets the ball during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match agaisnt Stuttgart on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Aurora<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tRamstein middle hitter Aurora Lewis, left, and outside hitter Amayah Payton block during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Ella<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tRamstein outside hitter Ella Yost bumps the ball during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match agaisnt Stuttgart on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Brooklyn<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tStuttgart outside hitter Brooklyn Biles sets the ball during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match against Ramstein on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Hannah<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tStuttgart middle blocker Hannah Holmes hits the ball between Ramstein defenders Isabella Johnson and Isabella Jimenez during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Paula<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tStuttgart outside hitter Paula McCown serves during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match against Ramstein on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes)
\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

One of the keys for the Royals was the youngest player on the roster. <\/p>\n

Freshman Emilie Edwards was one of two setters for the Royals this season, but on Monday, she learned that she was going to be the lone one for the tournament. <\/p>\n

Five days later, the 5-6 setter delivered a masterclass performance beyond her years. She recorded 26 assists, with half of them going for Yost\u2019s 13 kills. <\/p>\n

\u201cHaving told her she was setting a 5-1, she wrapped her head around that and took the challenge on,\u201d Ramstein coach Kandel Baxter said of Edwards. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to what she has the next three years.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Royals pulled away late in the first set with an 8-2 run, sparked by a couple of block-points by sophomore middle hitter Aurora Lewis and Yost, the tournament MVP. <\/p>\n

Yet the second set began as a disaster for Ramstein. The Panthers rattled off the first eight points via three kills by sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn Biles. Stuttgart also led 21-13 before a 6-0 Ramstein run made it close. <\/p>\n

While Stuttgart held on to take the set, that effort buoyed the Royals the rest of the way, Payton said. They didn\u2019t trail in the third set and went on a 12-1 run to blow out their opponents. Then, in the fourth set, a Yost kill at 8-7 gave the Royals the lead for good. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just really had to come together as a team and realize that it is now or never,\u201d Payton said of that second-set effort. \u201cWe all wanted to win, so we knew that if we wanted to come up and come out.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Panthers struggled to recover from a couple early injuries, according to coach Bethany Trimble. <\/p>\n

She praised her players\u2019 effort, as she had to dig deep into her bench, putting each Panther on the floor at some point. <\/p>\n

Biles finished the match with 11 kills, freshman setter Victoria Lugo recorded 17 assists and Hannah Holmes chipped in with seven kills for Stuttgart. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something that never happens in a final \u2013 at least not one I\u2019ve ever been a part of,\u201d Trimble said. \u201cI was proud of all of my kids because every single one of them was necessary today.\u201d <\/p>\n

After a six-year wait for a European crown, Yost expressed the team\u2019s goal to run it back next campaign. The Royals lose just two starters \u2013 Payton and middle hitter Isabella Johnson \u2013 to graduation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the hope,\u201d Yost said. \u201cLet\u2019s keep this going.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n <\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.stripes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stuttgart middle blocker Peyton Mannin, right, blocks a spike from Ramstein’s Ella Yost while teammate Alexandria Lyles leaps at the net during the 2025 DODEA-Europe Division I girls volleyball championship match on Nov. 8, 2025, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner\/Stars and Stripes) RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany \u2013 The Ramstein […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2144070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[409434,409435,363597,409433],"class_list":["post-2144069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-dodea-europe-volleyball","tag-high-school-volleyball-in-europe","tag-ramstein-royals","tag-stuttgart-panthers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Royals-back-on-top-of-large-school-throne.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2144069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2144071,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144069\/revisions\/2144071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2144070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2144069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2144069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2144069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}