The Bermuda Volleyball Association will have a men's and women’s team competing in the USA Volleyball Open National Championships in Orlando, Florida, which start today.

The men will be playing under the team name Ace Boyz and the women under the club name Devil's Isle VC.

“The Bermuda men’s team are looking forward to getting back on the court at the US Open in a competitive environment,” said men’s head coach Elisabeth Rae.

“The men are using the US Open as a building block towards the Eastern Caribbean Men’s Championship in Antigua from July 6 to 11. “The team has a mix of experience and youth and we are hopeful of achieving some positive results both at the US Open and the ECVA championship.

“We would like to extend a special thank you to Conyers as the teams uniform sponsors and Chubb as travel shirt sponsors.”

Fellow coach Gary LeBlanc is also excited for Bermuda’s teams to be making a return to the tournament.

“I’m very excited to see how this tournament turns out for the team,” he said. “The last appearance at the US Open was 2019 and then Covid got in the way. “Fast forward three years and we're very excited to finally get back on the court, which is our first big win. The US has, largely, been able to continue with their volleyball activities over the last couple of years while we have been very on and off. “The good news is that we have a very talented and young team to set the standard as we make our way back into the international volleyball arena.

“If we’re able to remain focused, keep to our fundamentals, minimise our errors and capitalise on winning opportunities, I’m very confident that we will do well in this tournament.

“It has taken a lot to get us ready and I’d like to thank the Paradise Hitters Volleyball Club for helping us train as well as a thank-you to our sponsors, especially to Mailboxes Ltd.”