Intharaluk goes first overall

More then 100 aspiring beach volleyball players showed up to the Pacific Islands Club on Tuesday night to make themselves eligible for the 7th Annual Miller Lite Coed Four-Person Volleyball League, and Kitinan Intharaluk was once again chosen as the first overall draft pick.

Intharaluk is fresh from a strong showing at the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games in Palau this past July and August and ready to go for the new season of bumps, sets, and spikes for the newly christened Hot Mix led by first-timer and captain Theo Wong.

After receiving the top spot in the draft, tragedy was averted for the rookie chieftain as Wong heeded the advice of local veterans and took the “Bangkok Bomber” to get the night’s festivities underway.

“I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to the season ahead and winning. Oh, and having fun, too,” she said.

Intharaluk said that he was interested in finding out who will be joining the duo on the court, but said that whoever plays on his side of the net is assured of having a good time.

“We still have to make our team but we’re going to have fun,” he said.

The regular cast of characters was joined by the next generation as well, as the overwhelming interest in the sand court battles allowed for the formation of 15 teams for fall-ball—including three from local schools.

A total of 25 student athletes from Saipan International School, Grace Christian Academy, and Marianas High School will join their elders on the courts in board shorts, and they look to be every bit as competitive as their full-sized counterparts.

The league format will pit the four-person teams against each other in three sets up to 11-points apiece on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 5pm and 10pm. Each seven-member team will field four players at a time, with one bumper, setter, or spiker being a female.

PIC Sports, Entertainment, and Activities director Jon Cramer will be taking on double-duty this season as the captain of Got Beer? and said that while the details of the schedule are still being worked out, the length of the season will run roughly two months.

One thing already certain is that the season gets started tonight when the GCA Eagles take on Palaksi at 5:30pm in the opener followed by the spirited match-up between the MHS Dolphins and Hot Mix at 6:30. The action continues at 7:30 when Got Beer? challenges Lick it, Stick it, Smack it, while the Sugoi Seven take on Aschaabw at 8:30pm. The final match of the night kicks off at 9:30pm between America F@&# Yeah! and You’re My Boy Blue!