Sloths rules grass v-ball tourney

Tyler Willsey, left, prepares to spike the ball as teammate Christen Steinkuller looks on in their finals match against Alfredo Guevarra and Toni Yamada in last Saturday’s 9th Annual Reverse Coed Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Capital Hill Ballfield.
(Jon Perez)

Team Sloths ‘N’ Slugs ‘N’ Harmony bested 22 other squads to rule the 9th Annual Reverse Coed Grass Volleyball Tournament held last Saturday at the Capital Hill Ballfield.

The Sloths—composed of Tyler Willsey and Christen Steinkuller—foiled the Cinderella run of the Bumpin Uglies’ Toni Yamada and Alfredo Guevarra in the finals, 21-14.

Willsey and Steinkuller, who have been playing together for four years, went undefeated in the one-day, double elimination round tournament. They earned the first finals berth and enjoyed a twice-to-beat edge in the title match.

Yamada and Guevarra faced elimination three times, but managed to overcome the odds to earn the right of facing the top-seeded Willsey and Steinkuller.

The Bumpin Uglies seemed headed for a Game 1 win that would have forced a winner-take-all Game 2 when it enjoyed a 12-8 lead against the Sloths.

But Willsey and Steinkuller won’t be denied of the victory. Using their chemistry to the hilt, Willsey and Steinkuller won 13 of the last 15 points to foil Yamada and Guevarra’s bid of prolonging the title match.

While Willsey and Steinkuller had the luxury to rest for sweeping their way to the finals, Yamada and Guevarra went through the eye of the needle to advance to the championship match.

Yamada and Guevarra came back from a 3-point deficit to oust the 100+ of Linda Anastacio and Rob Epley, 21-18. They next faced Ask Jacoby of Jacoby Winkfield and Nicole LeBlanc and again avoided elimination after rallying in the closing phase of the game.

Winkfield and LeBlanc were at match point, 20-17, but wasted their lead as Yamada and Guevarra played excellent defense and managed to find the open spots to complete the come-from-behind win, 22-20.

The Bumpin Uglies then faced Team TNA of the husband-and-wife tandem of Tyce and Angie Mister. Yamada and Guevarra showed signs of fatigue against TNA as the Misters controlled the early goings of their semis match.

However, Yamada and Guevarra managed to find their second wind and kept hitting the ball at the backline. Guevarra also scored a number of points on power spikes that caught the Misters off guard for a 21-12 victory.

Bumpin Uglies luck, however, ran out against the Sloths as the crafty pair of Willsey and Steinkuller used their power spikes and timely placement of drop shots against Yamada and Guevarra.

In other results, TNA came in third, while Egao topped the consolation bracket with a masterful 21-19 win over Out Of Bounds.

Last weekend’s tournament were organized by Kathy Winkfield and Tyce Mister with the help of other volunteers who set up six volleyball courts at the Capital Hill Ballfield. The Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association, hosting its first event in 2016, moved the venue to Capital Hill after the Navy Hill Ballfield was reserved for a Little League practice session last Saturday.