SNACKS For Naks won the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association’s Back To Our Roots Co-ed 4v4 Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Capital Hill baseball field on Saturday.
Nak Nakashima, Logan Mister, Grace Keilbach and Francisco Kumuch blew through the double-elimination format with ease, taking down Ayool, Chupapi and Crypts to secure a spot in the finals.
Crypts, which fell to Snack For Naks in the semifinals, quickly recovered by eliminating Chupapi 21-18 to set up a rematch in the best of three finals.
Crypts consisted of Iszel Esteves, Mike Omar, Jerry Saures, Mason Padahk, Ryan Camacho, and Alfredo Guevarra.
Because they could rest some of their players, Crypts had a variety of attacks in their offensive repertoire, eventually overpowering Snacks For Naks 21-17 in the first match.
However, in the second match, Crypts failed to keep the fire burning. Snacks For Naks started off strong with a 5-0 lead before Crypts could break the silence.
Although Crypts slowly closed the gap, Kumuch and Mister’s power spikes were relentless and resulted in a 21-17 victory for Snacks For Naks.
This forced a third and final 15-point match.
Snacks For Naks gave it their all as their teamwork and communication continued to be their biggest assets. Nakashima orchestrated their all-out attacks with Keilbach and her quick spikes at the frontline while Kumuch and Mister supported with power from behind.
Crypts tried to stay alive as Esteves’s blocking ability caught Snacks For Naks off-guard for a couple of points while his team-mates went on the offensive.
In the end, however, Snacks For Naks retained control and notched victory, 15-12, to win the championship.
The prizes for the top teams included local fruits, sugarcane and locally handcrafted jewelry made by Mike Omar.
The event placed women at the forefront of a co-ed tournament in which one of the rules was to let women only to spike from the net.
“We want to put out at least a volleyball-related event every month to keep public awareness up,” said NMIVA president Somia Quan. Next month, she said they plan to hold a coach’s clinic or an indoor kids jamboree.
“We’re also down to help out, especially when it’s a fundraiser for a non-profit or for a good cause. We’ve done this in the past with MCS and SIS and Yutu. It’s also good when we have outside people wanting to help an organization and then reaching out to us for help to put out a volleyball tournament. It teaches the youth to work together in putting on a fundraiser themselves,” Quan added.
Snacks For Naks team members pose with their prizes and NMI Volleyball Association officials after winning the Back to our Roots 4v4 Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Capital Hill baseball field on Saturday.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
Snacks For Naks’ Grace Keilbach connects the spike.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
Naks Nakashima extends to save the possession.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
