By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE series of beach volleyball qualifying tournaments for the Pacific Games ended last Sunday with the tandem of Tyce Mister and Mark McDonald likely to gain entries into the quadrennial meet.
Mister and McDonald ruled the eighth and last trial Sunday at the PIC sandcourt grabbing their third victory in a row and fourth overall.
The duo started its teamup in the fourth trial with McDonald’s former partner Chris Nelson failing to play. Mister and McDonald topped the fourth, bowed to Russian pair Sergey and Gregory Kunur in the fifth before sweeping the last three qualifiers. McDonald and Nelson ruled the first three trials.
Mister and McDonald beat five other teams in the eighth trial. They won over Derrick Tudela and Marino Pungilug in the finals, 21-10.
The winning team drew a bye in the first round and beat Evan Hunsberger and Tyson Whitney, 21-4, to move into the semis.
Mister and McDonald then downed Tudela and Pungilug in the semis to notch the first finals berth, 23-21.
Tudela and Pungilug were relegated to the losers’ bracket and had to defeat Rob Epley and Nick Gross, 21-8, in the other semis game to earn a rematch with Mister and McDonald.
Other tandems that competed in the last trial were Jon Cramer/Keoni Ichihara and Eric Olopai/Kaycee Rengular.
“Basically, Tyce and Mark are a lock as there are no other teams with enough practice time to challenge them,” said Cramer, president of the organizing Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association.
In the women’s division, a playoff may be scheduled.
“There will most likely be a playoff between Melissa/Nina and Laurie/Gin.. I am going to propose to Russ (Quinn) that it be a two out of three match with the first two sets to 21 points and the third set to 15 points. This is the format that will be used in Samoa,” Cramer added.
Melissa Halaby and Nina Mosley won the eighth qualifier beating Michelle Hammons and EJ Lee in the finals, 17-21, 21-19, 15-7.
Gin Gridley and Laurie Peterka, who topped the seventh qualifier, lost their two games in the final trial.
Cramer said they have yet to set the playoff date, as he is still waiting for coach Russ Quinn, who returns to the island today.
“This should be completed by early next week,” the NMIVA head said.
Aside from the eighth qualifying tournaments, players who want to represent the NMI in the Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa in August are attending training sessions with Quinn.