All-Army teams win gold in Armed Forces Beach Volleyball

Army Men Go at It

l-Army men's No. 1 team player Staff Sgt. Lewis Dennis of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., drops a shot on All-Army men's No. 2 player Spc. Ramon Diaz of Fort Drum, N.Y., as Army Reserve Sgt. Joe Rossetter of Columbus, Ohio, watches at the 2013 Armed Forces Beach Volleyball Championships on May 4 at the Wasatch Beach Volleyball Complex in Murray, Utah. Dennis and Rossetter won the men's gold medal.

Marine Women

All-Marine Women spikes.

Navy Spikes

Navy Team #1's AWRCS John Goings (Jacksonville, FL) lands a spike against Army Team #2's SFC Eric Latson (JB Lewis-McChord, WA) at the 2013 Armed Forces Beach Volleyball Championship at Hill AFB, UT

Army Men take Beach Gold

The Army No. 1 men, Army Reserve Sgt. Joe Rossetter of Columbus, Ohio, and Staff Sgt. Lewis Dennis of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., prevailed 21-13, 21-11 over silver medalists Navy No. 2 -- Lt. Chris Lambert of Naples, Italy, and Seaman Noel Garcia of Islamorado, Fla.

Navy Women Take Silver

No. 1 All-Navy squad of silver medalists Lt. j.g. Abbie Merkl of Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Lt. j.g. Jesselyn Lavalley of Charleston, S.C.

Armed Forces Teams

Teams from Army, Marines, Navy/Coast Guard, and Air Force line up at the closing ceremony of the 2013 Armed Forces Beach Volleyball Championship 2-6 May hosted by Hill AFB, UT.

Navy take Silver

Navy No. 2 -- Lt. Chris Lambert of Naples, Italy, and Seaman Noel Garcia of Islamorado, Fla take silver at the 2013 Beach Volleyball Championship at Hill AFB, UT

Army Women Capture Gold

The Army women's No. 1 team -- Capt. Rachael Tax of Fort Bragg, N.C., and 1st Lt. Shara DeMarco of Camp Carroll, South Korea -- prevailed 21-12, 21-1, and 21-11, 21-13 in the "if necessary" match over the Navy No. 1 squad, Lt. j.g. Abbie Merkl of Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Lt. j.g. Jesselyn Lavalley of Charleston, S.C.

MURRAY, Utah (May 7, 2013) -- The All-Army men's and women's teams won gold medals at the 2013 Armed Forces Beach Volleyball Championships, May 3-5, at the Wasatch Beach Volleyball Complex.

The Army women's No. 1 team -- Capt. Rachael Tax of Fort Bragg, N.C., and 1st Lt. Shara DeMarco of Camp Carroll, South Korea -- prevailed 21-12, 21-1, and 21-11, 21-13 in the "if necessary" match over the Navy No. 1 squad, Lt. j.g. Abbie Merkl of Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Lt. j.g. Jesselyn Lavalley of Charleston, S.C.

The Army No. 1 men, Army Reserve Sgt. Joe Rossetter of Columbus, Ohio, and Staff Sgt. Lewis Dennis of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., prevailed 21-13, 21-11 over silver medalists Navy No. 2 -- Lt. Chris Lambert of Naples, Italy, and Seaman Noel Garcia of Islamorado, Fla.

The All-Navy No. 2 men's team of Lambert-Garcia upset All-Navy No. 1 men's duo of Senior Chief Naval Aircrewman John Goings of Jacksonville, Fla., and Petty Officer 3rd Class Aaron Maosi of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., 25-23, 21-18 in the losers' bracket finals to reach the gold-medal match.

The inaugural Armed Forces Beach Volleyball Championships were played in 2010 and All-Navy teams maintained a stranglehold on the hardware until this year.

Each service entered No. 1 and No. 2 men's and women's teams, except the Air Force, which did not send women to the tournament. Both All-Army No. 1 squads struck gold.

Tax and DeMarco (3-2) finished second in pool play behind unbeaten Merkl and Lavalley (5-0).

The Armed Forces Indoor Volleyball Championships are set for May 8-12, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

Editor's note: Ken Polk of U.S. Armed Forces Sports contributed to this article