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Eagles deliver in high school volleyball
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Posted on Jan 17 2019
Grace Christian Academy’s Steven Balakrishna, right, tips the ball against two Agape Christian School defenders during their boys high school division game at the latter’s court in Gualo Rai. (Roby N. Pamintuan)
Grace Christian Academy went the distance against Agape Christian School before taking a victory in the boys high school division game in the 2018-2019 Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association Volleyball League last Monday at the Torchbearers’ court in Middle Road.
GCA and ACS played their first match in 2019 with the Eagles securing a 25-15, 22-25, 15-5 win.
With the game on the line in the third set, Wilgene Lieto and Joshua Pajarillaga stood out for GCA from the serving line. Lieto converted his first six serves into points and Pajarillaga peppered the opposition with nine consecutive serves.
“I knew that missing a serve here in the third set would’ve set my team behind both in points and morale,” Pajarillaga, the team captain, said. “I put everything I could into those serves, so seeing everything work out felt amazing.”
While Lieto and Pajarillaga were solid with their serves in the final set, their teammates—setter William Kim and spiker Steven Balakrishna—worked together for powerhouse spikes on a consistent basis.
“Steven Balakrishna’s strength, speed, and consistency were literally on display this game,” Pajarillaga said. “He pulled through with sharpened instincts and a raw determination to score.”
Balakrishna played an especially integral role in GCA’s win in the first set, as he rattled off multiple spikes and scored the last three serves in that period to lead his team to a 25-15 victory. Sam Ryu, on the other hand, thwarted ACS defense with multiple serves of his own, including two aces that threaded through the Torchbearers defense.
After the first set defeat, the Torchbearers claimed the second behind their towering frontline defense and better team communication. Agape started the second set facing a 6-9 deficit, but Silas Xu strung together five consecutive serves to overtake the Eagles. Agape went on to keep the driver’s seat to extend the game, as Kobe Yang also did his part by scoring spikes, tips, and the game-winning serve to stymy GCA’s comeback bid.
Despite the come-from-behind win in the second set, Agape ultimately fell short, as the Eagles stormed out of the gates in the decider to secure the victory.
