5X CHAMPION FRIARS SWEEP VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON TOURNAMENT

By Carmen Gogue

The five-time defending champions Father Duenas Friars dominated the 2024 High School Boys Volleyball preseason tournament hosted by the Guam Volleyball Federation and GSPN on Saturday. With the final match being a rematch of last year’s IIAAG title game, the Friars beat the Harvest Eagles once again in a three set joust 25-23, 23-25,15-8 to win the preseason championship.

The preseason tournament featured 10 schools, a mix of both IIAAG and ISA league teams with the St. Paul Warriors and Harvest Eagles adding their junior varsity teams in to make three pools.

Pool play consisted of two sets first to 21 with the teams being ranked with by set ratio and then point ratio. Early on, FD easily stayed at the top of their pool and overall tournament ranking. Playoffs and title match were to be played best of three sets first to 25, 25, and 15.

Title Match

In what seemed to be a fair matchup of the evening, the Friars and Eagles went back and forth in both the first and second sets with talented players each leading their team to a set win.

Now with a set a piece, FD began the third with a two-point lead from a pair of Harvest hitting errors. A massive kill down the line from outside hitter David Del Carmen put the Friars up 3-0. Harvest hitters continued to struggle in finding shots as another pair of hitting errors plagued their offense now putting FD up 5-0.

The Friars defense remained sturdy with big blocks from right side Hoben Barcinas and middle blocker Joseph Mafnas to increase the lead at 7-0 and with another Eagles hitting error it led FD to an 8-0 run.

Although the Eagles managed to score a point and gain a small run by kills from Raito Atsuta, Caleb Judicpa, and Tai Castro they couldn’t escape more hitting and service errors while battling a heated FD offense which only added a wider lead at 13-8 with only two points for the game win.

Mafnas scored the last two points for FD with a stunning kill from the outside position and a huge block to end the set.

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY: