Mt. Carmel School 1 unbeaten

Mt. Carmel School’s Richard Steele spikes the ball during their earlier game against Grace Christian Academy in the 2020-2021 Public School System Interscholastic 4v4 Beach Volleyball League at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan sand courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Mt. Carmel School 1 finished the preliminary round of the 2020-2021 Public School System Interscholastic 4v4 Beach Volleyball League unscathed after sweeping their last three games in the boys division.

Merrick Toves, Jeremiah Diaz, Richard Steele, Brandon Lee, Jun Beom Kim, and Sam Ryu defeated Saipan International School 1, 21-12, in the first of their final three games last Saturday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan and then dominated Marianas High School 3, 21-6, and 2, 21-9, to hand MCS 1 a 9-0 record in the 10-team field.

With their perfect mark, the Knights secured the top seed in the playoffs, which will take place on Feb. 26 and 27, and drew a bye in the first round of the double-elimination competition. The rest of the seeding and team records have yet to be finalized, but all the 10 squads will advance to the playoffs and will be joined by one group each from Rota and Tinian.

Mt. Carmel 1 recorded its pair of wins against the MHS teams on Court 4, while its victory over SIS 1 was made on Court 2.

In other results on Court 2, Agape Christian School 1 downed SIS 2, 21-18, and Agape 2, 21-19; GCA outclassed MHS 3, 21-13; MHS 1 beat MHS 2, 21-17; SIS 2 also prevailed over MHS 2, 21-9; and Agape 2 slipped past MHS 3, 21-18.

On Court 1, GCA swept its last three games, winning over Agape 2, 21-12, MHS 1, 21-17, and MCS 2, 21-15, while SIS 1 and 2 both defeated MHS 1, 21-15 and 21-19. MCS 2 got one victory on Court 1 after edging Agape 1, 21-18.

On Court 3, GCA notched its first win of the weekend after topping SIS 2, 21-15, while Agape 2 nipped SIS 1, 21-18. On Court 4, SIS 1 bagged a pair of wins as the Geckos outlasted MCS 2, 21-17, and MHS 3, 21-15, while Agape 1 triumphed against MHS 3, 21-17, and MCS 2 routed Agape 2, 21-6.

Meanwhile, the girls high school division will begin its playoff round this Friday, starting at 5:30pm.

MHS 1 is the top seed in the division with its 9-0 mark, drawing a bye in the first round along with GCA 2 (8-2), SIS 1 (7-2), GCA 1 (6-3). Rota and Tinian did not play in the preliminary round and automatically took the No. 5 and 6 seeding, respectively, while MHS 2 (6-3) is seeded No. 7 and is followed by MCS 1 (4-5), SIS 2 (3-6), MHS 3 (2-7), MHS 4 (1-8), and MCS 2 (1-8).

The first four matches in the playoffs will have MCS 1 battling SIS 2, MHS 2 facing MHS 3, Tinian taking on MHS 4, and Rota meeting MCS 2.