[sixcol_five_last]
By Kolby Chang
The perfect record remains intact.
The defending champion Southern High Dolphins survived a serious scare and overcame a resilient Guam High Panthers squad 27-25, 26-24 Tuesday night in the IIAAG Girls Volleyball League at the Southern High gym. The Dolphins now stand atop the league at 9-0 after eking out the win. The Panthers fall to 2-6.
On a night when the home team found themselves down early in both sets to the visiting Panthers, Dolphins coach Jaret Sanchez said earning a tough win is a good thing because it teaches perseverance.
“What we’re trying to teach [the kids] is even at the lowest situations in sports and in life, never look down on yourself,” Jaret Sanchez said. “Look for motivation. The motivation is there.”
With the season winding to a close, Sanchez emphasized that keeping the team motivated and mentally prepared for the task at hand is crucial if they are looking to repeat as champs. “I try and have them look at every game, analyze it before they go home, think about every single win and tell themselves that they deserve it,” he said.
From the game’s opening whistle, it appeared as if this was supposed to be a routine win over a struggling team. The Panthers, however, looked eager to play the role of spoiler and their gritty teamwork early in the first set silenced the Dolphins faithful. Errors and miscommunication got the Dolphins down but they managed to fight their way back and took the set.
The Dolphins started the second set quickly and were up 2-0 after Tianna Sakaba tipped the ball past the Panthers defense. The visitors clawed their way back when Catherine Fuller sent down to a kill to cut the Dolphins’ lead to one point. Just as errors in the first set almost undid the Dolphins, the same problem plagued the home team in the second set as the Panthers were on top 9-6 just a few plays later.
The lead was short-lived as the Panthers came loose around the seams and started racking up errors of their own to tie the set at 17. The Dolphins’ April Talledo gave her a team a narrow lead off of a tip to make the score 22-20. A Dolphins’ error on the next play cut the lead to one but Sakaba hammered down another kill to keep the Panthers at bay. Another error by the Dolphins a few plays later tied the score at 23 but the Panthers committed an error on the next play. Following an exchange of errors by both teams, the score was now 25-24 and Sakaba sealed the win for the Dolphins with a kill.
OTHER GAMES
In other league action, the Okkodo Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing skid by knocking off the St. John’s Knights 25-23, 18-25, 25-23. This was the Knights’ first home loss of the season. The Knights took the junior varsity game 25-13, 24-26, 25-20.
The St. Paul Warriors broke a six-game skid and handed the John F. Kennedy Islanders a 25-13,13-25, 25-16 loss. The Islanders now find themselves on a six-game losing streak.
The George Washington Geckos got the best of the Notre Dame Royals 21-25, 25-21, 25-17. The Mangilao school also captured the JV game 25-13, 25-19.
The Simon Sanchez Sharks defeated the Harvest Christian Academy Eagles 25-13, 26-24.
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

SHS Dolphin outside hitter Brittany Quinata comes down on a well-placed set. (photo by Jesse Castro)

SHS Dolphin Lorraina Sanchez jumped up to make the kill with GH Panther Alexis McGuire attempting to block. (photo by Jesse Castro)

GH Panther Catherine Fuller scrambles to make the save on a spike from the Dolphins. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Dolphins Coach Jaret Sanchez tries to rally his team during a timeout early in the first set. (photo by Jesse Castro)

GH Panther Catherine Fuller comes down with a spike as SHS Dolphin Lorraina Sanchez attempts to make the block. (photo by Jesse Castro)
[fbshare url=” http://www.gspnlive.com/volleyball/panthers-scare-dolphins/” type=”button”][fblike url=” http://www.gspnlive.com/volleyball/panthers-scare-dolphins/” style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]
[/sixcol_five_last][useful_banner_manager_banner_rotation banners=38, 53 interval=8 width=120 height=600 orderby=rand]


GPS Sports Calendar
January 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Events for December
31st
Events for January
1st
Events for January
2nd
Events for January
3rd
Events for January
4th
Events for January
5th
Events for January
6th
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
Events for January
7th
Events for January
8th
Events for January
9th
Events for January
10th
Events for January
11th
Events for January
12th
Events for January
14th
Events for January
15th
Events for January
16th
Events for January
17th
Events for January
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
21st
LIFT HEAVY + LIFT FAST – BFF SERIES
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for January
24th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for January
25th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
26th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for January
27th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
GLORIFIED SPARRING X
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
28th
5K DASH FOR ASH
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
29th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 1
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
30th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
31st
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL

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