FRIARS TOO MUCH FOR WARRIORS

📅16 April 2013

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By Regina Shiroma

Friars’ Jeremiah Taitano gets the kill past the block of Warriors’ Josh Orario. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

The Father Duenas Friars continue their win streak after defeating the St. Paul Warriors in two sets, 26-24, 25-15 at the Phoenix Center Tuesday night.

Behind the aces of setter Tristin Debold and the defense of libero Nate San Nicolas, the Friars were able to put the game away in straight sets. San Nicolas’ on-target passing allowed Debold to set up his offense with ease.

Both teams struggled to find momentum amongst the many unforced errors committed on both sides of the net. The first set saw the Friars making the errors allowing the Warriors to take a four-point lead after an ace by Tito Canovas. However, with the score at 24-all the Warriors were unable to bounce back from their three straight errors. The Friars managed to minimize the errors and went on to take the first set.

“First set wasn’t all that but we came back in the second set and we played our game,” said Debold.

McDonald’s player of the game: Friars’ Tristin Debold

And so it was. The Friars made the least mistakes leading into the second, and at the same time almost half of their points were given to them from the Warrior errors. The Friars played smart and safe, keeping their serves in and placing the ball in the holes of the opposite end of the court.

“We pulled together and worked as a team. Let all our anger go from our past errors in the first and just played strong as a team,” said Debold.

Despite the loss, the Warriors shut down the Friar offense as the big block of John San Andres prevented them from getting into a rhythm. The Warriors also earned easy points thanks to Dominik Caguioa’s smart serving that aced the Friar defense, however, the Warriors also gave away numerous points due to service errors.

The Friars now improve to 4-0 while the Warriors drop to 3-2.

In other games:

St. John’s def. Notre Dame 25-21, 25-23

JFK def. Southern 25-22, 25-16

Okkodo def. Sanchez 25-23, 25-22

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Warriors’ Tito Canovas goes up and tips the ball over the block of Friars’ Tristin Debold. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
Friars’ Nate San Nicolas dives to the ball to try and make the dig and prevent the kill. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
Friars’ Michael Sakazaki serves up the ball in the first set. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
Warriors’ Brian Tsujii prepares to make a pass to his teammate off a Friars serve. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
Friars’ Michael Sakazaki goes up to spike the ball while Warriors’ Makishi Shibuya and John San Andres go up to block. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
Warriors’ John San Andres spikes a kill through two Friars blockers. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
Friars’ Nate San Nicolas makes a pass to start his team’s offense. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)