[sixcol_five_last]
By Robert Balajadia
The women’s volleyball team of national hopefuls will be the only volleyball team representing Guam in the 2013 VI East Asian Games in Tianjin, China. Head coach Dan Hattig and assistant coach Ray Mantanona have the task of getting the girls ready for majority of the players’ first East Asian games. Preaching to start developing a gold medal winners mentality has set the tone for their practices, and the girls have been responding.
- China
- Chinese Taipei
- Guam
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- North Korea
- South Korea
- Macau
- Mongolia
One of key issues coach Hattig has had to deal with is the health of the 13 players on the team. He stressed that outside and extra curricular sporting activities need to be on put hold as the team prepares for a pool of Asia’s best.
Coach Hattig has been coaching national volleyball for both men and women since he came back to the Guam in 1996.
Assistant coach Mantanona has a lot of coaching experience from his time playing on the men’s national volleyball team to coaching middle and high school volleyball, though this will be his first time in coaching on the national scene.
Mantanona broke down some of the teams strengths and weaknesses by saying, “Our ability to have players play different positions is a big strength. The team is close to each other and they get along really well and have good cohesiveness. Our weakest area is having the experience at competing at that level, being that we’re so far away from the other countries that play at such a high caliber.”
With inexperience being a factor, the team will rely on the veteran leadership of 32-year-old Tatiana Sablan, who has been practicing with the national volleyball team for the past five years. One of the things Sablan is hoping to gain from the East-Asian Games is growth as a player and growth as a team.
From a leadership standpoint, Sablan explained, “I try and follow the guidelines of the coach and he really pushes us to lead by example. We went to the Phillipines recently to find that level of play off-island and that really showed us that when the pressure us on, one-by-one we start pushing back. That gave me hope that when we go out there, there’s no way we’re not going to push back.”

Tatiana Sablan and the girls volleyball team will carry Guam on their backs in the 2013 VI East-Asian Games. (GSPN photo)
One of the rising talents of the 2013 national hopefuls is Maria Wahl, who coach Mantanona explained has developed into the type of “wall” the team needs. Despite having an older brother, Derrick Wahl, who played for the men’s national volleyball team, Maria feels no pressure in living up to her brothers success.
“We are each different individuals and he and I have different strengths,” stated Maria. Instead, she focuses on getting her girls ready for the East Asian Games as best she can. “I try and show them the bigger picture and that it is time to represent Guam and not just play for ourselves, but for the flag we have over our shoulders.”
Sablan and Wahl are just a couple of the talented girls who are getting ready to serve up a medal for Guam, here are the list of national hopefuls:
- Cathrine Aquinde
- Kendra Byrd
- Colleen Cruz
- Gemma Datuin
- Mary Gillan
- Kara Guerrero
- Shanniqua Mendiola
- Camaryn Rupley
- Tatiana Sablan
- Joneen Terlaje
- Maria Wahl
- Emma Gatewood
- Jessica Nunez
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
[fbshare url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/volleyball/mission-tianjin-volleyball/” type=”button”] [fblike url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/volleyball/mission-tianjin-volleyball/” style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]
[/sixcol_five_last][useful_banner_manager_banner_rotation banners=53, 38 interval=8 width=120 height=600 orderby=rand]


GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
11th
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
19th
SPRINT TRIATHLON, PACIFIC GAMES QUALIFIER
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

Basketball
FRIARS TAKE DOWN PANTHERS 74-68

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Basketball
TAKUMI SIMON MAKING THE BEST OF PRO LIFE

Volleyball
H.S. BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN FULL SWING
COMING SOON …
- 3rd Quarter Sports