Bermuda began the first day of NatWest Island Games volleyball competition with victories on the court and on the beach in the morning session and ended the day with a triumph of the moral variety.Bermuda’s women began their indoor campaign with a 25-17, 25-20, 25-22 sweep of Hitra, a Norwegian island with a population of approximately 4,300.At the same time, the Bermuda I men’s beach team of Yves Charbonneau and David Gazzard were beating the Faroe Islands duo of Jens Heri Bolstad Mortensen and Alex Troleis, winning 2-0 (21-13, 21-14).Last evening, before a raucous, standing-room only crowd at CedarBridge Academy, Bermuda’s indoor men threw a scare into Island Games volleyball powerhouse Aland before falling 3-1 (25-11, 24-26, 25-18, 25-15).Bermuda’s three other beach teams lost their matches.Flag-waving, noisemakers and a cowbell were the order of the day at CedarBridge as Bermuda took on Aland, winners of Island Games bronze in 2011, silver medallists in 2009, and seven-time gold medal winners, most recently in 2001.A spirited second-set fightback put Bermuda on even terms before Aland pulled away.“Aland are a very good team, I am happy with the way we played,” said Bermuda coach Bill Bucci. “We didn’t make it easy for them they had to work for every point. Our communication, serves and hitting were all fine. We just need to improve our passing. If we can get the setter a good ball, he can distribute as he wants.”Bermuda’s second day of competition is also stiff. On tap today are 2011 Island Games silver medallists, the Faroe Islands, at 12.15 p.m. at Berkeley Institute while the men take on Saaremaa at 8.15 p.m. at CedarBridge Academy.Saaremaa, a Baltic Sea island belonging to Estonia with a population of approximately 39,000, have won the last five Island Games men’s volleyball gold medals. Saaremaa’s men opened the competition with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-12) victory over British Crown Dependency Guernsey.Bermuda’s women also take on Saaremaa this evening at 6 p.m. at CedarBridge. The Saaremaa women are as fearsome as the men the women won Island Games gold in 2011, one of six times they have done so. Saaremaa opened the competition last evening with a 3-0 victory over Swedish province Gotland (25-11, 25-14, 25-14).“Everyone had first-game jitters it has been a while since we have seen competition from away,” said Bermuda captain Vikki Stevenson. “Once we got on a roll, we found our rhythm and our communication was working well. It was a good game to find ourselves before we play Saaremaa.”The Faroe Islands, a self-governing region of Denmark, are also a six-time Island Games gold-medal winners in the women’s volleyball competition. The Faroes opened tournament play on Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-10) victory over Greenland.The last six women’s volleyball finals have been contested between Saaremaa and the Faroes.Charbonneau and Gazzard played a strong match on the sand at National Sports Centre to beat the duo from the Faroes, a self-governing region of Denmark. The Faroes are located in the heart of the Gulf Stream halfway between Norway and Iceland, and have a population of approximately 49,000.“We played our game, we were able to execute what we have practiced,” Charbonneau said.“We made very few unforced errors, and Yves controlled the net,” Gazzard added. “If he can do that, and I can get some grabs on the defensive side, that is key for us.”Gazzard is one of three brothers taking part in the Island Games siblings Jon and Mike are playing for Bermuda’s indoor team.Also on the sand, the Bermuda II men, and Bermuda I and II women, dropped matches.The Jersey duo of Paul Gartshore and Berislav Bobus topped Bermuda’s Sebastian Iaxx and Wesley Toavs 2-1 (21-11, 22-24, 15-8) before a strong crowd.The Bermuda I women’s team of Claudia Stich and Allison Lacoursiere lost 2-0 to the Gotland duo of Jenny Sander and Sofia Wahlen (21-12, 21-15).The Bermuda II women’s team of Stacey Dorush and Heather Wearmouth were beaten 2-0 (21-9, 21-16) by the Menorca team of Maria Bonafont and Vanesa Ruiz. Menorca were the women’s beach gold medallists in 2007, the only previous time the sport has been included in the Games.Today at National Sports Centre, Bermuda’s beach teams play in the first four time slots of the day with Bermuda I men taking on Cayman II at 9 a.m., Bermuda II men playing Isle of Man at 10 a.m., Bermuda I women playing Cayman at 11 a.m. and Bermuda II women facing Jersey at noon.Later in the day, the Bermuda I women take on the Faroe Islands at 4 p.m., while the Bermuda II men face Saaremaa at 5 p.m.