Geckos, Knights tame foes in MISO

Marianas High School’s Karlo Deleon Guerrero, foreground, beats Marianas Baptist Academy’s Won Woo in tipping the ball, while Dolphins teammate Jeffrey Dela Cruz prepares for a block during their game in the MISO volleyball league last Friday at the MHS Gymnasium. (Jon Perez)

Not to be outdone, the Mt. Carmel School Knights varsity played a double-header and swept their two matches on Friday to remain within striking distance of the Top 3 teams.

SIS varsity holds a clean 14-0 record, followed by Grace Christian Academy varsity at 9-3 and MHS varsity at 8-4. Mt. Carmel jumped from sixth to fourth with an 8-7 record. SIS junior varsity (7-6), Marianas Baptist Academy varsity (6-7), Kagman High School varsity (5-9), Saipan Southern High School varsity (4-10), SSHS junior varsity (3-11) and MHS junior varsity (1-12) complete the standings.

The Geckos’ third win came at the expense of Kagman, as they made short work of the Ayuyus, 25-12, 25-12 on Friday. SIS flexed its muscles right from the start as the Geckos baffled the Ayuyus with their kills and drop shots. Kagman also failed to find an answer on SIS’ blocking and floor defense to fall in two sets.

MCS was victorious, too last Friday, working extra hard to get past Kagman, 25-16, 26-24, and Saipan Southern varsity, 26-24, 25-19.

The Knights were aiming for a sweep against the Ayuyus when it held a slim 13-11 lead in the second set. Kagman, however, refused to just go down that easily and went on a 9-4 run to move to three points away from forcing a deciding third frame. MCS battled back with a 7-2 scoring spurt of its own to tie the contest, then moved to match point on a Kenji Yamagata kill before wrapping up the match on a wide spike by Kagman’s Darion Jones.

Against Saipan Southern, MCS built an early 7-0 lead in the first set behind Kai Higuchi’s unusual service style where the Knights setter starts from the left corner before making a running jump serve, giving the ball added spin and making it difficult for the Manta Rays to make the return.

Southern then fought back as it managed to string up some points to even enjoy a 22-18 edge before MCS leveled the score at 24.

Quinn Amog scored MCS’ 25th point when he tricked SSHS blocker Ethan Dickerson by dropping the ball instead of going for the spike. The set ended when Mantas’ Yubin Park’s spike attempt failed to get past the net.

MCS just played more carefully in the second and found an answer to every SSHS challenge to seal the match.

In other results, SIS scored wins over its junior varsity squad, 25-20, 25-10, and MBA, 25-18, 25-22, last Thursday , while MHS varsity defeated its junior varsity squad, 25-7, 25-19, and outlasted MBA varsity, 24-26, 25-23, 15-12. The Dolphins, however, dropped a 14-25, 25-19, 13-15 decision against SIS JV last Friday. SSHS varsity scored wins over its junior varsity, 25-21, 25-19, and MHS JV, 25-21, 25-19, but suffered a 16-25, 22-25 defeat to the GCA Eagles, while MBA completed an 18-25, 25-13, 15-13 come-from-behind win against Kagman. (Jon Perez)