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SIS vs Mt. Carmel in v’ball finals
Saipan International School’s Clayton Izuka serves during the second set of their semis game against Grace Christian Academy in the middle school division of the private school volleyball league yesterday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
The SIS Geckos earned a return trip to the finals after beating Grace Christian Academy in the first semis game yesterday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, while the MCS Knights prevailed in the second Final Four match against Whispering Palms.
SIS swept GCA in the first semis tiff, 25-14, 25-13, with the Geckos leaning on its solid starters to advance to the finals, which will be played today at 3:30pm. Geckos coach Mili Saiki stuck with Clayton Izuka, Alex Park, A.J. Hudkins, Anna Calvert, Grace Choi, and Malika Miyawaki all throughout the two sets and they delivered, hitting their serves consistently and stepping on the right place at the right time to hit back against GCA.
The Eagles, on the other hand, made several substitutions as they could not find the right combination on the floor and committed numerous errors in the second set.
In the first set, GCA was very much in the game and even took a 10-7 lead. However, SIS dominated the second half of the opening set with Izuka and Hudkins going for a couple of spikes and Miyawaki and Calvert alternating in setting up their teammates. Park and Choi were also on top of the play, diving for those low balls and running at the back to chase GCA’s long returns.
While SIS was busy communicating on the floor and hustling for the ball in the closing stage of the first set, GCA was a bit disorganized, forcing the team to commit numerous miscues. A wide serve moved the Eagles within a point of losing the opening set and after a long rally, they committed another booboo when a GCA player from the backline made a short return off Izuka’s shot to hand SIS the victory.
In the second set, SIS raced to an 8-2 lead, but GCA kept its hopes alive moving within four, 10-14, after winning the several exchanges. Saiki sued for time to talk to her players and they responded with a string of six points. An SIS error gave GCA a point, however Park scored two aces and Hudkins had a drop to move the Geckos within two points of wrapping up the match. An Izuka ace handed SIS the match point after GCA managed to score two more and the game ended with the Eagles hitting a wide return with the ball going past the sideline.
The SIS win was an upset as it beat the top-ranked GCA. The Eagles ruled the elimination round with its 12-2 record, followed by Whispering Palms (11-2), Mt. Carmel (10-4), and SIS (9-5).
In the second semis game, the Knights dethroned Whispering Palms. Scores were unavailable at press time, but according to Mt. Carmel coach Tomoko Shimizu, they also beat Whispering Palms in two sets. Whispering Palms won last year’s finals against SIS, 25-23, 25-22, for back-to-back championships as the former also prevailed in the 2012-2013 season versus Saipan Community School.
