SIS sweeps Mt. Carmel

Saipan International School’s A.J. Hudkins bumps the ball during their game against Mt. Carmel School in the CCOPSA volleyball league yesterday at the MCS grass court in Chalan Kanoa. (Roby N. Pamintuan)

Saipan International School floored Mount Carmel School in the boys division game in the 2018-2019 Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association High School Volleyball League yesterday.

The Geckos and Knights duked it out at the latter’s home court in Chalan Kanoa, with SIS emerging as the victors after just two sets, 25-14, 25-22.

Mt. Carmel starters struggled communicating with each other throughout the first set and the Geckos capitalized to ease their way to an 11-point winning margin. SIS’ Andy Cho and Junbum Huh took advantage of their time at the server’s line as they made five successful serves apiece during the opening set. The high-flying Billy Lee also contributed to the Geckos’ good start with several high impact spikes.

While SIS easily dusted off MCS in the first set, the Knights stormed out of the gates in the second, making five consecutive overhand serves, courtesy of team captain Eric Kiser. Kiser’s hot start gave the Knights a 6-0 advantage in the second set, prompting SIS coach Mili Saiki to call a timeout in a bidto regroup her players.

The Knights caught the Geckos off guard, as MCS was noticeably more vocal with its communication during the second set and that naturally translated to across-the-board improvement. However, despite the Knights’ best efforts in the final set, the Geckos’ dedication to fundamentally sound plays proved to be too much for the Knights.

When asked how her team rallied from a 0-6 deficit in the second set, Saiki couldn’t help but chuckle as she responded.

“We were trying a new playing style. Any time you do something new, the players get nervous,” Saiki said. “We went back to the game that we know, and they pulled through.”

Saiki added that her team hasn’t been playing up to their full potential, as SIS’ volleyball program was stalled for over a month after Super Typhoon Yutu hammered Saipan.

“The boys have been without much practice because of the storm. It’s really hard because most of them don’t have power yet, and we don’t fully have power at school yet,” Saiki said. “With a little more practice, hopefully we will get back to our level because they can play at a much higher level than this.”

Meanwhile, games in the league will continue tomorrow with Grace Christian Academy’s girls and boys teams hosting SIS 1 and SIS boys at 4:30pm and 3:30pm, respectively. While SIS 1 will be competing at GCA, SIS 2 will be hosting MCS’ girls varsity team at 3:30pm. Rounding out the league action for tomorrow is MCS’ girls junior varsity team, as it will be hosting Agape Christian School at 3:30pm.