
By Robert Balajadia
The JFK Islanders were just two points away from relinquishing their perfect record (4-0) to the home team Tiyan Titans (1-3) Tuesday in a Gadao Division showdown in the IIAAG girls volleyball season early goings.
After dropping the first set to a Titan rally, the Islanders found a way to escape a thrilling 2nd set to set up a dominant 3rd set victory. JFK survived 23-25, 25-23, 25-16.
The Notre Dame Royals, the only other undefeated team, easily cruised by the Guam High Panthers 25-8, 25-11.
“We came in to this game with bad mindset,” said Islander middle blocker Eddyanne Sablan. “We thought that just because we have an undefeated record, we came in thinking tonight was going to be easy. Losing the opening set was a wakeup call to us.”
Sablan came to the rescue after deja vu occurred in the 2nd set with the Islanders giving up a sizeable lead to a Titan rally.
Down 21-15 for the second straight set, the Titans were aggressive on their attack with kills coming from both the outside and right side hitters Y’lisiah-rai Jorda and Ajia Fegurgur as part of a 4-0 run to get within 21-19.
Jorda then went above the next a few plays later for a thunderous kill to knot the game at 23 with Tiyan appearing to be on a game-sealing momentous run. Instead, JFK settled in and allowed Sablan to hammer home a set-winning kill to send the contest into the final set.
“We knew that pushing for a 3rd set was a chance for us to restart. With that restart, we played more serious. Our communication was better and we trusted each other. We played sloppy in the 1st set and we motivated each other through it because we know we’re better than how we came out to this game,” added Sablan.
JFK didn’t hold back in the 3rd by quickly jumping out to a 9-1 lead with the Tiyan rally train running out of steam. Sablan set the tone midway through, register her third kill in a four-point span to put the Islanders firmly ahead 18-7.
Tiyan went on a four-point spurt in their last ditch effort, but errors and a put-away kill from Islander Kiyoni Yamaguchi were all that JFK needed to escape the early season upset.
Tiyan will travel to Academy in their next game and the Islanders will play in the always rocking Harvest Eagles gym Friday.
OTHER GAMES
Notre Dame def. Guam High 25-8, 25-11
St. John’s def. Okkodo 25-12, 25-21
Academy def. Harvest 25-13, 25-9
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
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- Titan Ajia Fegurgur gets a kill in the 2nd set as part of a Tiyan rally. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
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- Tiyan’s Y’lisiah-rai Jorda gets a big kill to tie the game in the 2nd set. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
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- Titans Monique Benavente attacks from the outside for a point in the 1st set. (photo by Robert Balajadia)


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
25th
MARIANAS OPEN PRO JAPAN TOURNAMENT
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

Jiu-Jitsu
MARIANAS OPEN TO TAKE OVER TOKYO

Volleyball
VOLLEYBALL KICKS OFF BUSY 4TH QUARTER SPORTS

Jiu-Jitsu
MARIANAS OPEN TO TAKE OVER TOKYO
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!