By Asha Marie Robles

Once again, the top seeded Okkodo Bulldogs continue to dominate in the Taga division after defeating the St. Johns Knights in two sets at their home court Saturday night 26-24, 25-13. With the win, the Bulldogs now attain a record of 10-3 while the Knights fall to 6-7.

Early into the games first set, the Bulldogs were evenly matched with the Knights as points were gained back and forth between teams. However, with better ball control, serving, and kills, the Bulldogs took the win with the score at 26-24.

“I told my players towards the end of the first set, when we win this we need to get a momentum going so we can carry it on into the second set and that’s pretty much what happened”, said Bulldogs head coach Dohn So.

The Knights seemed to gain the lead for a while at 19-16, however with a hard kill by Bulldogs middle, Jera Dungca, the Knights big lead would end. The Bulldogs Danielle Robles would bank in five serves to gain the lead at 21-19.

With points being earned on both sides, the first set could have gone to either team, however, with the Bulldogs in the lead at 25-24 one big block by middle Lori Okada would secure the win for the home team.

“It was a great feeling, but I knew that it wasn’t the end of the game and that my team still needed to go into the second set and win that as well”, said Okada about how she felt after helping her team win the first set.

The second set appeared to be a completely different game as the Bulldogs crushed the Knights 25-13. Head coach Dohn So stated that it was the momentum from the first set that played a major role as to why his players performed better in the second set.

Okada was instrumental in the winning effort as she put in ten serves to give her team a whopping 14-5 lead. “We had the momentum on our side so my serves were just there and after serving I just had to be ready on defense”, she said.

The Bulldogs momentum didn’t stop there as Sirena Cepeda added five serves with the help of several kills made by Dungca and Keana Mayo to get the score to 20-7.  From there, the Bulldogs would continue to play a fast-paced game and secure the win at 25-13.

“To be honest I feel good that we won, but yes, we need to work on certain things, but if we just keep playing hard then of course we are going to keep on moving along with wins”, stated a smiling Dungca after winning the game.

Varsity

Harvest def. Sanchez 22-25, 26-24, 27-25 (upset of the night)

JFK def. St. Paul  29-27, 25-16

Okkodo def. St. John’s 26-24, 25-13 (Bulldogs hot, winning 5 straight)

Southern def. Notre Dame 25-10, 13-25, 25-21 (Dolphins roll to their 6th straight)

GW def. Guam High 25-9, 25-17

Junior Varsity

Sanchez def. Harvest 25-20, 21-25, 25-12

JFK def. St. Paul 25-15, 19-25, 25-23

Okkodo def. St. John’s 25-15, 25-18

Notre Dame at Southern def. Notre Dame 26-24, 18-25, 25-13

GW def. Guam High 25-9, 25-11 (Geckos win 8 straight)

BYE: St. Thomas