Upset in NMIVA grass v’ball tourney

JR Gechig and Charnessa Lizama ruled the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association’s 5th Annual Coed Reverse Grass Volleyball Tournament held last Saturday in Navy Hill.

Gechig and Lizama went undefeated throughout the weekend tournament and clinched the championship after stunning Tyce Mister and Toni Yamada in the finals, 21-18.

Mister, who was part of the champion team last year, and his new partner Yamada were the favored pair coming into the event. However, they were knocked out of the winner’s bracket by eventual third placers Clay McCullough-Stearns and Amber Roberts, who notched a 21-18 victory in the quarterfinals.

Roberts and McCullough-Stearns’ celebration was short-lived, however, as Gechig and Lizama prevailed in the next round, 21-15, before Mister and Yamada eliminated the former in the anticipated rematch, 15-12. Game point had to be adjusted to 15 in the lower bracket matchups due to time constraints late in the tournament.

Gechig and Lizama then held a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals, but it did not matter as the former’s powerful overhand strikes were on point throughout the tournament. Gechig went for easy spike from behind the foul line and Lizama did a very good job feeding him the ball all day. Lizama showed a well-rounded game in her own right and their speed enabled them to cover their entire side of the court on defense.

It was the first time for either player to clinch a championship in three appearances in the same event. Lizama and Gechig never teamed up in the past, however with the chemistry they showed over the weekend, it is no surprise that the two will be right in the mix when they contend for a title defense next year.

Gechig and Lizama received the $150 cash prize to split and each went home with cell phones provided by IT&E. They also inherited the responsibility to organize next year’s tournament.

Mister and Yamada won $100 in addition to a pair of $20 gift coupons from Truong’s and an IT&E gift bag, while McCullough-Stearns and Roberts were awarded $50 and IT&E gift bags.

The two-person coed tournament was formatted with special ground rules. The nets were set at women’s height and male players were prohibited from going for blocks. Male players also could only spike the ball from behind a specially marked 10-foot line.

The competition started out with a round-robin pool play made of five randomly selected teams per group. The Top 3 place finishers of each pool advanced to the 16-team double elimination segment of the tournament. Tiebreaker matches were also held to determine the final wild card finalist. Various raffle prizes were given away during the games and all participants received free event t-shirts.

NMIVA would like to thank event sponsors IT&E, Gatorade, Pepsi, Triple J Super Fresh Market, Triple J Motors, Marianas Trekking, Pacific Islands Club, IP&E, and Elliott Systems LLC for all of their support.

NMIVA’s next event headlined, For the Love of Volleyball 2012, is a beach volleyball doubles tournament open to both male and female players ages 16 and older. It will be held on Feb. 11 at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, starting at 9am. Entrance fee is set at $20 per player and $15 for NMIVA members.

Visit www.nmivolleyball.org or email tournament coordinators Vangi Sablan (vangie.sablan@hyattsaipan.com) or Laurie Peterka (nmivolleyball@gmail.com) for more information.