SIS leads opening day winners in v’ball

Last year’s finalist Saipan International School was among the opening day winners in the 2013-2014 Marianas Interscholastic Sports Organization Girls Volleyball League last Tuesday night at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

The Lady Geckos were pitted against the junior varsity team of Kagman High School in the second match on the north court and won all three sets to start their bid in the eight-team field on a positive note. SIS, which lost to Grace Christian Academy in the finals last season, was right on target in the opening set against Kagman JV, 25-7, and secured the early win with a 25-14 triumph in the second set. The Lady Geckos went on to shut out Kagman with a 15-10 victory in the third set.

On the southern end of the court, Mount Carmel School also went 3-0 against Saipan Southern High School. The Lady Knights, who bowed to SIS JV in the battle for third place last season, opened their campaign this year with a thrilling 26-24 win in the opening set. Then in the second set, Mt. Carmel gained more leverage for a game-clinching 25-14 victory before completing the sweep with a 15-10 triumph.

Meanwhile, MHS won the first two games in the league with its junior varsity squad prevailing against Kagman’s varsity team on the north court and the Dolphins’ varsity group stunning the defending champion GCA on the south court.

The Dolphins’ JV team cruised past Kagman in the opening set of their match on the north end, 25-10, before laboring a 25-20 triumph in the second to seal the early victory. The Lady Ayuyus then avoided a shutout after bouncing back in the extended third set with a 19-17 victory.

On the south end, MHS worked out a 25-16 win over the Lady Eagles in the opening set and had an even tougher victory in the second, 25-22, to bag the outright triumph. In the mandatory third set, GCA managed to pull off a 15-12 win.

Meanwhile, GCA was trying to recover from its debut loss yesterday when it played MHS JV in the second game on the north end. Also set in the second match on the south court was the Kagman versus MHS Varsity tiff, while in the first two matches, SIS JV challenged Kagman JV on the north end and SIS Varsity met Southern on the south side. Results of last Thursday’s matches were unavailable at press time and will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Monday edition.

Games in the double-round robin regular season of the MISO league will be played every Tuesday and Thursday, while the double-elimination tournament is set for March 7 and 8 with Rota and Tinian invited to field teams in the annual competition.