
By Robert Balajadia
Beach volleyball has become the IIAAG’s newest venture after going through an exhibition phase last season. This season, both boys and girls will have a quarter dedicated to the sport with the 2nd Quarter belonging to Boys Beach Volleyball while the Girls will resume play in the 3rd.
Saturday afternoon’s matchup between the FD Friars and St. John’s Knights at the GFA Training Facility sand courts marked the debut for FD with the Knights making their season start earlier in the week. Out of three games, the Friars managed to sweep the Knights 3-0.
Saturday Results
Team 1 Winners: FD def St. John’s 21-12, 21-18
(FD) Kaleb Tennessen & Jeremiah Nguyen
(St. John’s) Albert Liu & Warren Chen
Team 2 Winners: FD def St. John’s 21-13, 21-15
(FD) Raymond ‘RJ’ Castro & Jacob Herrera
(St. John’s) Cameron Kelley & Jon Xu
Team 3 Winners: FD def. St. John’s 21-12, 18-21, 15-9
(FD) Thomas Moylan & Kiko Damian
(St. John’s) Erren Chen & Aidan Johnson

The FD tandem of RJ Castro and Jacob Herrera were the first to lock in a victory for the Friars, defeating the Knights in straight sets. Even with their strong play, the Friar tandem were trailing in both sets before making a surging finish.
“It was all about communication. There’s just two of you on the court instead of six, so you have to bring each other up. With that communication and motivation from each other, we pulled through,” said Castro on finding their groove. “You have to move a lot faster, but the game itself is a lot slower.”
The duo of Kaleb Tennessen and Jeremiah Nguyen appeared to transition smoothly to the sand. Tennessen plays more of a defensive specialist for the Friars indoor team, but his offense has been coming along since transitioning to beach.
“I practice my hits often whenever I get the chance to… whenever me and my partner aren’t doing anything I always try to get him to set me so I can practice hits also,” said Kaleb.
The quick reactions of being a libero has only benefited Kaleb, but even he admitted it’s no easy task to play in the sand. But being part of the inaugural season on FD’s first beach volleyball team presented too memorable an opportunity.
“The sand and elements played a big factor and it’s pretty difficult,” admitted Tennessen on his first game of the season. “It’s definitely a lot of fun and it’s pretty cool to say that you’re a part of something in the beginning.”
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GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
12th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2K/5K
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

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