COUGARS ROUT KNIGHTS

By Jose Terlaje

The Academy Cougars remain one of the top teams in the IIAAG Girls Volleyball League and they proved it in convincing fashion with a 25-16, 25-9 dismantling over the host St.John’s Knights Saturday night.

The Cougars didn’t let their loss to the Sanchez Sharks on Tuesday slow them down, as they got back to their winnings ways, coming up with back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars remain atop their division and are looking to be in good form with the playoffs being just around the corner, tied with the GW Geckos for the best record in the league.

“I think about the game the day before and focus on what my team is counting on me to do in the game. I envision myself on the court on game day and the kind of mentality I’m supposed to have in order for me to successfully play my role on the team”, said setter Mya Sanchez, who stepped up her game and set the pace for the Cougars.

The first set started off at an even pace, with both teams putting up points. The Knights’ Stephanie Hong blasted the ball past the Cougars’ Cydni Scott to put the score at 6-4 bringing the Knights within two points of the Cougars, but that would be the closest score they would get throughout the set.

Academy Cyndi Scott goes up and drills one to extend the lead in the first set. (photo by Joey Blas)

A string of miscommunications between the Knights gave the Cougars four straight points off of errors, giving AOLG a 10-5 lead. After the Cougars began to commit a few errors of their own, the Knights’ Kristina Folta and Haley Cooper would not go down without a fight on their home court and attempted to get their team back in the game, hammering vicious kills past the Cougars’ Scott. The Knights’ efforts were stuffed though, with Villanueva, the Cougars’ big hitter, responding with two straight kills of her own to put AOLG up 16-10.

The Knights would make one last run at a comeback with Hong serving up an ace, followed by an AOLG error to put the score at 20-16 but her team could not find any offensive rhythm. The Cougars immediately got back into offensive rhythm with two aces by Meagan Maratita, and Juliana Nelson sending a kill past the Knights’ Cooper to end the set 25-16.

The Cougars came into the second set all fired up and continued to assert their dominance by responding to a kill by the Knights’ Adriana Chang, with a big run to give them a 7-1 lead. The run started with two straight kills by Sanchez and Villanueva. Scott went on to serve up three straight aces followed by a huge kill by Villanueva to end the run. The Cougars’ defense also came into the second set as strong as ever, with Dawn Makio and Maratita picking up almost every St.John’s spike attempt throughout the set, feeding Sanchez good passes.

St John Kristina Folta makes a nice diving save to extend the rally for the Knights. (photo by Joey Blas)

Just like the first set, the Knights were plagued with errors, missing numerous serves that gave up a huge number of free points to the Cougars, who capitalized on every mistake.

After a big block by Scott, AOLG was up 15-5 halfway through the set. The Knights attempted to make a comeback with Catherine Chung and Carol Chong serving up some aces in between two Cougar errors, making the score 17-9 but the Knights could not build upon this scoring run. From that point on, the Cougars’ Sanchez then turned up the intensity, doing whatever it took to keep the Cougars in control, even diving to set the ball just before it hit the floor. With Sanchez at the helm, the Cougars no longer committed errors and were able to go on a scoring frenzy, coming up with big hits from Kyra Lee and Villanueva that the Knights were unable to return. The Cougars’ scoring streak kept Scott behind the inline to serve up the final points with two straight aces that ended the set 25-9.

When asked about the Cougars’ outstanding team play, Sanchez credited her team’s bond and trust in one another. She added, “I really think that it’s our faith in each other that allows our team to be successful. We believe that each member of the team is able to play their position exceptionally well and that they are capable of doing what needs to be done in order for our team to come up with the win.”

Varsity

Southern def. Harvest 25-13, 20-25, 25-16

JFK def. Guam High 25-11, 25-22

Notre Dame def. St. Paul 25-21, 23-25, 25-22

Academy def. St. John’s 25-16, 25-9

Okkodo def. GAA 25-11, 25-19

Junior Varsity

Guam High def. JFK in three sets

Academy def. St. John’s 25-22, 25-20

Southern def. Harvest 25-23, 25-9

Notre Dame def. St. Paul 25-23, 17-25, 25-18

Sanchez def. St. Thomas 25-21, 23-25, 25-23

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Couagrs Libero Meagan Maratita makes a nice dig in the backcourt to stop the knights rally. (photo by Joey Blas)

Knights blocker makes a nice stuff at the net. (photo by Joey Blas)

Academy Cyndi Scott serves an ace against St John in the second set. (photo by Joey Blas)