
By Robert Balajadia
The St. Anthony Lady Raiders volleyball team (7-1) needed to win Tuesday night to secure sole possession of first place, and they did just that after dropping the (5-3) Santa Barbara Spartans in two sets 25-14, 25-16.
While rocking Christmas holiday socks, the Raiders were able to jump out to large leads in the both sets after strong serving produced runs that gave them momentum.
Battling in a close first set with the Spartans leading 6-5, Raiders Jackie Martinez then took over shaving off six straight points for her team as St. Anthony jumped out to an 11-6 lead. Spartans Mariana Tamayo had a hand on a kill that brought the Spartans back to get within 13-10, and errors by the Raiders added to the short Spartan run at 13-12.
Raiders Nicole Gandaoli then squashed the run with a pair of aces that turned into an 18-13 lead for the Raiders as they began to pull away. Raiders Rayven Benavente served up four straight points and Isabel Itliong-Cruz handed out the final kills to close out the first at 25-15.

Ashley Gonzales of the Lady Raiders gets up to slam a spike over the net. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)
Dharma Cooper served the Spartans to an early 4-1 lead in the second set, though the Raiders settled down midway through to recapture the lead with Gandaoli at the helm. Back-to-back aces by Gandaoli got the Raiders a 7-5 lead and they wouldn’t look back.
Combined with errors by the Spartans, Itliong-Cruz cashed in on two kills that gave the Raiders a 16-11 lead. More errors allowed the Raiders to climb up to 20-12, capped off by an Itliong-Cruz ace.
Laressa Halladay gave the Spartans a brief spark for three straight points to cut the lead 22-15, but Raiders Monica Giger had her hand on the final point of the season for St. Anthony, getting a kill to land dead center of the Spartan defense to end the game 25-16 and secure first place.
The Raiders take first place over the St. John’s Knights as they hold the tie-breaker after defeating the Knights, giving them their only loss of the season, in a big game last Thursday.


GPS Sports Calendar
May 2025
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for May
2nd
GIRLS HS FOOTBALL LEAGUE
HS BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for May
3rd
H.S. PADDLING CHAMPIONSHIP
HIGH SCHOOL POWERLIFTING SHOWDOWN
H.S. TRACK & FIELD
Events for May
3rd
Events for May
5th
GIRLS HS FOOTBALL LEAGUE
HS BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for May
9th
GIRLS HS FOOTBALL LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS
HS BOYS VOLLEYBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for May
10th
Events for May
13th
Events for May
15th
Events for May
17th
GIRLS HS FOOTBALL LEAGUE FINALS
H.S. TRACK & FIELD ALL-ISLAND MEET
Events for May
17th
Events for May
18th
Events for May
20th
Events for May
21st
Events for May
22nd
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
Events for May
24th
Events for May
25th
Events for May
26th
Events for May
27th
Events for May
28th
Events for May
29th
Events for May
30th
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7

Softball
CAMACHO SIGNS TO PLAY SOFTBALL IN NY

Running/Track
PANTHERS CONTINUE TRACK SUPREMACY

Running/Track
PANTHERS CONTINUE TRACK SUPREMACY

Softball
CAMACHO SIGNS TO PLAY SOFTBALL IN NY
COMING SOON …
Youth Football starts June 7-8
Pacific Mini Games June 29-July 9
QUICK HITS
Nino Untalan hit the game-winning 3-pointer with under 30 seconds left in the game.
It is the first championship for the Obispos in 13 years.