WPS wins opener; GCA recovers

Whispering Palms School’s Max Church bumps the ball during the third set of their game against Grace Christian Academy 1 in the middle school division of the COPSSA league yesterday at the WPS court in Navy Hill.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Whispering Palms School prevailed in its season debut, while Grace Christian Academy 1 and 2 quickly bounced back from early losses in the middle school division of the 2016-2017 Coalition of Private Schools Sports Association Volleyball League.

WPS hosted GCA 2 last Tuesday and swept the three-set game. Whispering Palms coasted to a 25-6 victory in the first set and secured the opener with a tough 25-23 win in the second. The third set, which was still played to give the opposing teams more time to hone their volleyball skills, also went to Whispering Palms, 15-7.

After facing GCA 2, Whisperings Palms dueled GCA 1 and this time the Eagles won. GCA 1 got the victory right after two sets, 25-7, 25-23. Whispering Palms avoided being shut down in its own turf after taking the third set, 15-11.

With GCA 1 beating Whispering Palms, it managed to recover from its opening loss to Agape Christian School last Tuesday. Agape pulled off a 25-21, 23-25, 15-12 victory over the Eagles during their game at the GCA court in Navy Hill. Agape went on to gain its second straight win after slipping past Saipan International School 2 yesterday at the former’s court in Middle Road. The scores in the Agape-SIS 2 tiff were unavailable, but according to the former’s officials, the Geckos topped the first set before the Torchbearers won the last two to remain undefeated in the 11-team field.

In other results, GCA 2 regrouped quickly after bowing to WPS last Tuesday as the Eagles downed Mt. Carmel School 2 at the MCS Gymnasium yesterday.

Two more games were played yesterday with defending champion SIS 1 scheduled to duel Seventh Day Adventist at the Geckos court in As Lito and Marianas Baptist Academy slated to host Saipan Community School. Results of both matches were unavailable at press time.

The league’s middle school competition will have a double-round robin format in the regular season and beginning on Tuesday, games will also be played every Wednesday.

SIS 2 will play SCS on Tuesday at the SIS court, while the four other pairings are GCA 1 vs MBA at GCA; GCA 2 vs SDA at SDA; MCS 1 vs Agape at MCS; and MC2 vs WPS at WPS. SIS 1, which won last season’s championship after outclassing GCA in the finals, 25-18, 13-25, 15-6, will have a bye on Tuesday and will return to action on Wednesday as it collides against SCS.

The middle school elimination round is set to conclude on Nov. 8, while the playoffs will be held from Nov. 10 to 18. The high school division of the league will start on Nov. 15.