GCA Eagles whipped Mount Carmel School (Knights) in two straight sets, 25-12, 25-10.
From the beginning, Eagles seemed to have seen some weaknesses on Knights’ side of the court, and they basically hit on these liabilities as hard as they could to squeeze out a victory.
Dae Won Jeon of GCA Eagles came out prepared in the game with his high jumpers and strong spikes at the net.
Banking on height and skills, Jeon committed to the net with sharp offense, hitting unmanned areas of MCS Knights.
One of Knights’ defenders and tough spikers, Peter Matagolai, tried to ward off some hits from Eagles but his effort fell short on distance and precision.
For the most part, Knights tallied few hard hits and gave off weak spikes, which Eagles countered with some sharp responses.
One Knights fan said she noticed her team was not spiking hard enough at the net to get the needed points.
Eagles contained Knights’ Matagolai and Jake Igitol’s offensive move, posting some good ball saves down the court.
Wearing #15 jersey, James Sakamoto of Eagles saved the ball on crucial moments in the first set, preventing a possible damage in their defense.
Add to MCS Knights’ predicament, a violation by one of its players was called on the floor during a drawn out volley, giving Eagles a four-point advantage.
The score was 9-5 in favor of GCA Eagles.
A spike by Luther Taylor from Eagles led the team to pull away by five points.
From that time on, MCS Knights got stuck at five – besieged by forced errors, while GCA Eagles continued to advance in the scoreboard in the fist set.
MCS Knights were not able to pull their acts together on the second set as they miscalculated their hits and were not able to limit on errors.
In one instance, Nicole Gabriel of Knights failed to return a shot, allowing Eagles to score 24 points, versus 8 of Knights.
At match point, Denise Das of GCA Eagles made a good save of the ball, returning a shot from the side court, just within the bounds.
On the other hand, Seventh Day Adventist emerged winner over Marianas Baptist Academy (Stormz) in a grueling battle for third place of the COPSSA volleyball tournament earlier on Friday last week.
SDA beat MBA, 25-14, 26-24, 15-13.
MBA claimed the first set as SDA hitters were left scrounging for points, unable to protect their zone.
The second set saw both teams trying to outdo with their offense as they cling on for close scores, which did not go as far as two or three-point deficit.
Joy Lacorte, SDA’s team captain, led her team to post some good returns and ball save.
SDA’s Kono Remeliik helped the Yoshida brothers (Michitaka and Kae) with their attacks at the net by providing sharp returns.
Remeliik handed over the second set to SDA after he landed a ball on an open area in MBA’s court.
Third set almost slipped from SDA’s hands.
Thanks to forced errors on the final stages as MBA Stormz tried desperately to catch up with 14-11 score.
But SDA squad pulled through with enough hits at the net as they saw opening on their opponent’s court.
During the awarding, SDA received the Sportsmanship Award, and its very own, Remeliik received the best player award in his school.
Other Most Valuable Players from other schools include Henry Lee (Saipan International School – Green), amber Roberts (SIS-Blue), Jake Igitol (MCS), Jerry Sakamoto (MBA), James Sakamoto (GCA), and William Salazar (CCA).
D.W. Jeon of GCA was the season’s overall MVP.
