SPEEDY KILLS SAVE SHARKS

By Asha Marie Robles

Powerful hits by the Simon Sanchez Sharks gave them the upper hand and the win over the St. Johns Knights in an exciting three set match on Tuesday nights volleyball game held at the Sharks gymnasium 25-14, 22-25, 25-20.

After coming off from a hard loss to the Harvest Eagles last week, the Sharks understood that they had to play true to their style in order to defeat the Knights.

“We didn’t do anything special or different tonight, we just finished this time,” said Sharks head coach Art Stanley, who believes that changing up a team’s style towards playoffs is a recipe for disaster. “We’re going to be sticking to what we’ve been doing.”

Coming into the first set, both teams were neck and neck until the Sharks’ Kiarra Rojas made an unstoppable kill which motivated the Sharks to keep racking up points. Rojas would then make a couple of aces during her serves to get the Sharks up to 11-7.

“I believe that because the other team gave good hits and blocks, it motivated me to do the same, but even better. I definitely couldn’t have done it without the help of my teammates though,” Rojas stated.

The Sharks controlled the first set with good passing by Patience Artero and Taylor Naputi, which led to great finishes by Zhannissa Mendiola and Rojas. The Sharks, who showed better ball control overall, would grab the first set at 25-14.

Coming in hot during the second set was Knights’ Kristina Folta, who provided numerous kills that led to the 25-22 win over the Sharks. The second set saw a hungry Knights team come together and pull through a tough match.

Though the game was tight throughout the set, it was the Knights who kept the lead majority of the time. The Sharks saw a one-point lead at 15-14 after an error by the Knights. However, with a kill by Folta, the Knights would come right back and take the lead until the end of the set at 25-22.

During the final set of the night, both teams went back-and-forth in the beginning until the Sharks took the lead at 8-7 after a Knights mistake. The Sharks would now keep the lead behind more fast kills by Rojas and Artero.

The closest the Knights would get to the Sharks was at 17-15, but with a mistake on their end, the Sharks continued to gain points and end the match at 25-20.

Rojas, who played a huge part in the win, commended her team for a job well done and stated that, “I knew my girls were going to pull it together in the end. I always believed in us since the beginning and even though we didn’t get the second set, we came out with the win and that’s all that matters.”

Varsity

GW def. GAA in two sets

JFK def. Harvest 16-25, 25-22, 25-21

Sanchez def. St. John’s 25-14, 22-25, 25-20

Notre Dame def. Guam High 25-18, 25-18

Okkodo def. St Paul 25-15, 25-20

BYE: Southern

Junior Varisty

Notre Dame def. Guam High 27-25, 25-19

JFK def. Harvest 25-19, 18-25, 25-21

Okkodo def. St. Paul 25-11, 25-18

St. John’s at Sanchez

Academy def. St. Thomas

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Knights Adriana Chang was unable to get her spike through the hands of a Shark defender. (photo by Jose Perez)

Sharks Lowella Diramos concentrates on the ball to keep it in play. (photo by Jose Perez)

Sharks Kiarra Rojas was a force at the net with her many spikes. (photo by Jose Perez)

Sharks Kiarra Rojas ready for another one of her power serves. (photo by Jose Perez)

Sharks Kiara Camacho gets low to keep a spike in play. (photo by Jose Perez)

Knights Kristina Folta spikes into the hands of Sharks defender Kiarra Rojas. (photo by Jose Perez)