Middle school boys v-ball begins Jan. 31

Public School System athletics director Nick Gross, seated left, is joined by middle school boys volleyball coaches, along with volleyball league coordinator Ryutaro Litulumar, seated third from right, and technical officials, all standing at back, after the coaches meeting at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Tuesday for the upcoming Boys Middle School Volleyball Season. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The NMIVA-PSS Interscholastic Middle School Volleyball League 2022-2023 season sanctioned by the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association is slated to begin next Tuesday, Jan. 31, with all games to be played at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. 

In preparation for the season, a coaches meeting was held at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium and over Zoom last Tuesday, attended by ​​Public School System athletics program director Nick Gross, middle school volleyball coaches, and technical officials. 

In the meeting, they discussed NMIVA guidelines for referees, players, team captains, and table techs. 

Rules on tipping/dinking, shoot setting, receiving, setting, screening, top of the net, third hit opportunity, table control, sidelines, and linemen were discussed.

In the beginning of the meeting, Gross thanked the support and partnership of the volleyball community and NMIVA, along with PSS for the volleyball program. He then congratulated Grace Christian Academy for winning the girls middle school volleyball championship that concluded last Jan. 14.

For the upcoming season, he told the coaches in attendance “I highly suggest that as you’re putting your teams together, that you’re putting together a tournament team that represents your school and is the best 15 volleyball players that you have that are eligible. And then a JV team that is more of your development team that is helping those kids understand the game, learn the skills, and so on.”

He said that he wants to cap the team at 12 or fewer “which allows us to run a pretty quality championship tournament, Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday into the afternoon.” 

The double-elimination championship tournament is set to begin on March 16, with the championship game scheduled for March 18.

Ryutaro Litulumar, volleyball league coordinator, said after the meeting, “I wish all the teams a tremendous and wonderful season for the upcoming Boy’s Middle School Volleyball!”

“Every year we see great improvement and a great show of sportsmanship from each team. To the parents and spectators, thank you for your continuous support for your children and school. I expect this season to be nothing short of exciting with a wave of roller coaster emotions. NMIVA is striving for technical officials, coaches, and most of all players to make strides in their level of play and skill sets. Again, thank you to all parents, spectators, and teams for coming out and participating and showing tremendous love for the sport of volleyball,” he said.