GCA vs SIS in finals rematch

It will be payback time for Grace Christian Academy, as it earned a title rematch with Saipan International School, following a semis victory over Calvary Christian Academy in varsity division of the 2011-2012 Coalition of Private Schools Sports Association Volleyball League yesterday at the Whispering Palms court.

The Eagles swept the Sharks, 25-15, 25-20, to book the second and last finals ticket in the varsity division. The SIS Geckos notched the first finals berth after beating Mt. Carmel School last Monday. The winner-take-all varsity finale will be played tomorrow at Whispering Palms with GCA hoping to avenge its loss to SIS last season.

The Geckos stunned the Eagles in last year’s finals in three sets, pulling off a come-from-behind win after losing the first set. GCA lost the championship and had its six-year reign in the varsity ending despite sweeping the regular season and beating SIS twice.

The Eagles faltered on their bid to clinch their seventh straight championship, as they played safe in the last two sets after a strong showing in the opening set. The bitter memory of that sorry loss was still vivid on GCA coach Becky Robles’ mind and she reminded her players to play solid games in two or three sets to avoid another collapse.

“Against SIS, we have to play heads up volleyball right at the very beginning of the match. We have to be confident, but not too confident. SIS is a strong team and we have to be consistent with our game to win this time,” said Robles, who gathered her players right after the win over CCA and told them to attend today’s practice in preparation for the do-or-die finals tomorrow.

The Eagles had an easier time against Calvary in the first set of the second semis match, as James Libut, Angelo Salas, and Dae Min Jeon teamed up in the frontline to lift GCA to a 10-point win. Other members of the team are Khemner Sugue, Jun Kitagawa, Anthony Borja, Romar Bulong, Ira Batallones, Jazmin Rayphand, Julie Muna, Zena Demapan, Michiko Tenorio, and Chrystal Cristobal.

In the second set, Robles decided to field her second and third stringers and Calvary capitalized on the absence of Jeon and Libut to take control of the game. The Sharks managed to lead by as much as three points, 11-8 and 18-15, forcing GCA to call two timeouts early.

Jeon and other GCA starters returned midway in the second set, but despite their presence, Calvary still played steady and led for the last time at 19-18, off Salas’ wide return.

Jeon then went for a kill to tie the game and the match was still in a stalemate, 20-all, after GCA committed a service error in the ensuing play.

Salas made up for his earlier booboo after blocking a spike from Calvary to put GCA ahead, 21-20 and then Jeon followed it up with back-to-back kills to move the Eagles within two points from winning the semis tiff.

GCA made it a 24-20 tally when Calvary was called for an error at the net and the Eagles wrapped up the game with Jeon setting up Libut for a spike.