[sixcol_five_last]
By Niko Bulaon

Okkodo’s Jeddou Antonio puts it past league MVP Reed Meyer as the Bulldogs advance to the semifinals. (photo by Jose Perez)
It’s down to the final four teams in the IIAAG Boys Volleyball League as the GW Geckos, JFK Islanders, FD Friars and Okkodo Bulldogs move on to the semifinals on Monday night.
The fifth-seeded Okkodo Bulldogs stunned the fourth-seeded St. John’s Knights in a two-set thriller, 26-24, 25-19, at the St. John’s Gym.
At the beginning of the first set, the Knights started the game with jittery feet, causing multiple errors to give the Bulldogs a small run, but this ended when MVP Knights’ Reed Meyer sent a kill and a block to get his team going.
The Bulldogs gave their opponents a hard time with Aaron Blaz and Jeddou Antonio on their side. Huge blocks from Antonio brought his team up by five points. With the Bulldogs looking to dominate, Meyer cut his opponents’ lead, bringing the Knights within inches of taking the first set. At 24-24, the Knights caused yet another unforced error, and the Bulldogs took the set with a kill from Aiden Ferrara.
“We just really had to key up on their big hitters,” said Blaz about his team’s performance. “We also had to focus on the passing and the defense – mostly defense.”
With one set under their belt, the Bulldogs came into the second, just like the first: causing their opponents to commit errors, only to be ended by Knights’ TJ Atalig with a big kill. The Knights stayed in the game, but their errors grew in number. Unanswered kills from Blaz had the Bulldogs leading.

All-Island outside hitter Aaron Blaz guides his Okkodo Bulldogs to the semifinals with a mild upset over the 4th-ranked St. John’s Knights. (photo by Jesse Castro)
As the Knights tried for a come back, three consecutive aces from Blaz and multiple errors by the Knights turned the favor around, giving the Bulldogs a six-point lead. Meyer and Atalig tried to keep their team in the game, but Blaz had other plans, ending the second set with a series of hard-hitting kills and taking home the win.
“I’m happy with the win, I’m happy the boys stepped up coming from a loss [against the Knights] in the season, but we still have a lot to work on,” Blaz said about his team’s win.
When asked about how he feels his team will do during the rest of the playoffs, Blaz commented: “I know we can play at our full potential, but we just got to keep working hard. We’re going against a big team next week, so we really got to keep practicing, play together, and play Okkodo volleyball.”
IAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL QUARTERFINALS
GW (#1) def. GAA (#8) 25-11, 25-19 (Maluwelmeng 9 kills, 7 aces)
JFK (#2) def. St. Paul (#7) 25-16, 25-15
FD (#3) def. Harvest (#6) 25-22, 25-9
Okkodo (#5) def. St. John’s (#4) 26-24, 25-19
MONDAY SEMIFINALS (UOG Field House)
#3 FD vs. #2 JFK 5:30 p.m.
#5 Okkodo vs. #1 GW 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY FINALS (UOG Field House)
Consolation Game 5:30 p.m.
Championship Game 7 p.m.
LIVE on www.guamsportsnetwork.com!
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Daniel Del Carmen serves it up to the Bulldogs in their quarterfinal match Friday night. (photo by Jose Perez)
[fbshare url=” http://www.gspnlive.com/volleyball/four-teams-march-to-semis/” type=”button”][fblike url=” http://www.gspnlive.com/volleyball/four-teams-march-to-semis/” style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]
[/sixcol_five_last][useful_banner_manager_banner_rotation banners=16, 69, 38, 53 interval=8 width=120 height=600 orderby=rand]


GPS Sports Calendar
January 2021
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 1
- 2
Events for January
1st
Events for January
2nd
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Events for January
3rd
Events for January
4th
Events for January
5th
Events for January
6th
Events for January
7th
Events for January
8th
Events for January
9th
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
Events for January
10th
Events for January
11th
Events for January
12th
Events for January
13th
Events for January
14th
Events for January
15th
Events for January
16th
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
Events for January
17th
Events for January
18th
Events for January
19th
Events for January
20th
Events for January
21st
Events for January
22nd
Events for January
23rd
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
Events for January
24th
Events for January
25th
Events for January
26th
Events for January
27th
Events for January
28th
Events for January
29th
Events for January
30th
- 31
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Events for January
31st

MMA/Boxing
YAMAMOTO, AGUON TO END YEAR IN RIZIN 26 RING
Foody’s 5 Fun Facts
NFL Fan Edition: Sherwin Paet
Polls
DID U KNOW?
Frank ‘The Crank’ Camacho was a competitive youth golfer in Saipan with dreams of making it to the PGA.
COMING SOON …
ALL SPORTING EVENTS HALTED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS ISSUE