
By Mike Nauta Jr.
The 16th Annual Shieh Volleyball Preseason Tournament came to a close Monday night at the GW gym in Mangilao. On the agenda for the evening was the championship game that pitted the ND Royals and the hosting GW Geckos.
Both teams came battle ready looking for a victory. While the Geckos cruised through pool play untouched, the Royals only loss came at the hands of the defending IIAAG Champions and hoped to extract revenge. From start to finish, the Geckos were all business and took care of their opponents in straight-set fashion defeating the Royals 25-14, 25-17.
“We came ready to play this game,” said GW captain Sia Duenas. “Of course as a championship game, everyone was nervous but we knew what we had to do to succeed. We had mistakes but we never let down. I am very proud of my team and good job to the Royals, they did well themselves.”
GW wasted no time in the opening set as they stifled the Royals with excellent defense complimented with strong offense. Led early by Duenas’ ace and a kill the Geckos built built a 5-1 lead that forced ND coach Mike Rabago to burn a quick timeout. The one minute huddle didn’t seem to deter the Geckos as they returned to the floor firing on all cylinders.
With the help of reigning IIAAG volleyball MVP Jasmine Almoguera, GW built a commanding 14-4 lead.

Dr. Tom Shieh hands off the trophy to the very deserving GW Geckos after defeating the ND Royals in the championship game. (photo by Erin Duenas)
Late in the set, an ace by Brianne Leon Guerrero and a kill by Destiny Castro sparked a mini Royals surge that narrowed the deficit to 16-10. Staying composed, the Geckos responded with a 9-4 run to close out the set that included a set clinching kill by Colleen Quinata.
“Communication with one another on the floor was what kept us going through the entire set,” said Duenas. “Once we found rhythm we just kept going, you can’t allow a team like ND to get hot.”

Reigning league MVP Jasmine Almoguera leads the Geckos to the Pre-Season title. (photo by Josette Javelosa)
Second set action started slow with each team trying to get something going. Several unforced and service errors had both teams trading points. With the score knotted at five, the Geckos turned up the offense and eventually built a 15-10 lead.
A few plays later, an ace by ND’s Leon Guerrero pulled her team within (16-14) two. However, that would be the closest the Royals would get before GW went on a 9-3 run to claim victory and hoist the championship trophy.
“Winning this championship is nice, but we still have work to do as its only preseason,” said Duenas. “We can expect all these teams to come out strong once our season begins.”
In the consolation game, the Academy Cougars defeated the JFK Islanders in straight sets.


GPS Sports Calendar
March 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for February
28th
Events for March
2nd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
Events for March
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
ISA GIRLS SOCCER FINALS
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
Events for March
4th
35th RAINBOWS FOR ALL CHILDREN 3.5 MILER
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE FINALS
Events for March
5th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 3
Events for March
5th
Events for March
6th
Events for March
7th
Events for March
9th
Events for March
11th
GSPN PRESEASON BOYS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT DAY 1
Bank of Guam Block Party 5K
Events for March
12th
Events for March
13th
Events for March
14th
Events for March
15th
Events for March
17th
World Athletics Indoor Championships
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
18th
PAY-LESS KICK THE FAT 5K/10K
World Athletics Indoor Championships
Events for March
19th
Events for March
21st
Events for March
24th
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Events for March
25th
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
26th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 4
Events for March
28th
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
28th
Events for March
30th
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
IIAAG GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
31st
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Volleyball
VOLLEYBALL KICKS OFF BUSY 4TH QUARTER SPORTS

Volleyball
VOLLEYBALL KICKS OFF BUSY 4TH QUARTER SPORTS
COMING SOON …
- 4th Quarter Sports
QUICK HITS
Guam MTB National Championship: Edward Oingerang and Jennifer Camacho are your 2023 MTB national champions. Oingerang finished the course in 1:13:24 while Camacho won her second straight title in 54:08.
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Kobe Miyashita, with St. John’s coach Arvin Flores, was named the 2023 IIAAG Middle School Boys Volleyball MVP!