SHARKS SINK COUGARS IN TWO

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By Robert Balajadia

Sharks Kristin Artero slams the ball past the Cougar frontline for a point. (photo by Jose Perez)

The Sanchez Sharks avoided a near third set against the Academy Cougars, thanks to a strong showing from Sharks’ Kristin Artero, to defeat the Cougars 25-18, 26-24. The Sharks stay undefeated at 6-0 while the Cougars suffer just their second loss of the season at 4-2.

The score was tied at 17 in the second set when the Cougars Alina Bonto stepped up to serve. Bonto and middle blocker Erin Wong went off with Wong blocking two straight spikes from the Sharks Kiarra Rojas while also picking up a kill to extend the lead to 23-18.

Coach Art Stanley called a timeout to have the girls calm down in the set.

“It was my teammates who were saying ‘we have got to do this!’ [Stanley] is a man of few words and he believes and has trust in us. We also believe in each other. We stick to our system and always try and pick each other up.”

The Sharks then came out firing with Shaniah Aguon serving, getting an ace on her first serve. Artero then met Wong in the middle two straight times where she managed to score points on both of her kills to trim the lead 23-22.

Academy senior Ladera Linn then sent a spike towards the back of the Sharks defense where they misjudged the position of the ball and allowed the Cougars to pull within a point of a certain third set at 24-22.

McDonald’s Player of the Game Sharks’ Kristin Artero

The Sharks relentlessly challenged Wong despite being down as Zhanissa Mendiola scored a kill to tie the set at 24. Aguon then sent a serve that hugged the top of the net before dropping right in front of the Cougar line to go up 25-24. Wong then tried to respond with a strong kill but overshot the boundary giving the Sharks the 26-24 second set win, sending the visiting fans into a frenzy.

Artero led the Sharks with eight kills and one block while Rojas had nine kills and two blocks. Linn was the leading lady for the Cougars with seven kills while Wong finished with five blocks and three kills.

The Sharks are on pace to head into the weekend undefeated. If the Sharks and Dolphins win their games Friday night, they will meet on Saturday for the battle of the league’s only undefeated teams. When asked about if going undefeated was important, Arterto responded with,”Yes. We know it’s going to be tough but we have to keep up the intensity and finish strong.”

OTHER SCORES

Varsity

Southern def. Okkodo 25-17, 10-25, 25-16

ND def. JFK 23-25, 25-21, 25-18

GW def. Harvest 25-8, 25-18

Junior Varsity

Sanchez def. AOLG 25-21, 25-20

JFK def. ND 25-18, 25-21

GW def. Harvest 25-20, 25-8

Southern def. Okkodo 25-21, 25-21

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Cougars Gemilie Ilao misses a spike ball. (photo by Jose Perez)

Cougars Jasie Villanueva gets up ready to slam another ball into Shark territory. (photo by Jose Perez)

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