FRIARS GET BY ISLANDERS AS PLAYOFFS NEAR

Charlotte Oh

In the last week of the ISA/IIAAG boys volleyball regular season, the Father Duenas Friars swept past the John F. Kennedy Islanders in a thrilling matchup on Tuesday evening. Playing in the sweltering FD Jungle gym, the Friars wasted no time in finishing the game with a 3-1 win: 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14. 

Junior Saul Bamba led the Friars with 13 kills, including the game-winning hit to cap off the night. “This is one of the best performances I’ve had. I just felt really confident today,” shared Bamba.

The Friars finish the regular season at 12-1, the same as the Harvest Eagles and Notre Dame Royals.

All three teams beat each other, requiring a tiebreaker for proper seeding in the quarterfinals this Friday.

According to the league bylaws, in the event of a three-way tie and all teams beat one another, the next tiebreaker is ‘sets won/loss ratio’. As it stands, the Eagles should get the top seed as they’ve giving up only nine sets in the season, while the Royals lost 10 sets and the Friars 12. Can’t get any closer than that!

The regular season concludes on Wednesday with three games with the postseason starting Friday.

FD v JFK

Set 1

The Islanders appeared to struggle in teamwork and passing early on, allowing the Friars to take a 9-4 lead. However, after tightening up plays and capitalizing on a few mistakes by the Friars, the Islanders easily made up the lost ground, narrowing the gap to a one point deficit, 15-14. Both teams rushed after scrambled balls, making it difficult for players to get an opportunity to swing for a solid hit.

Nonetheless, JFK’s Theodor Camden jumped up for a block to shut down an FD middle, tying the score at 22-22. Camden was the Islander’s main offensive weapon, contributing 15 kills. He finished the close set in fashion with a massive outside hit, sending the ball to the ground, 25-23. 

After losing the first set, Bamba admitted, “I think I was a little stressed during the start, but as we kept on playing I got more hyped up and was more confident the whole time.” He added, “I was trying to bring up my team and tell them to start off strong and end strong and just to put all of our energy into the game.”

Set 2

FD star David Del Carmen stepped onto the court after sitting the first set out, grounding his team on defense while playing clever at the net. This set proved to be much more exhilarating as both teams came out with higher energy and tied the game at 9-9. FD’s right side Christian Guerrero and Bamba delivered crucial kills, allowing the Friars to take a 22-16 lead. Despite the gap, the Islanders pushed on with valiance in an effort to elongate the set. The Friars were too far ahead, and after missed serves from both sides, Bamba flew to the air to finish the set with a slam at 25-20. 

Set 3

The Islanders, determined to come back from the last set, stayed tight with the Friars in the third set. JFK’S Alaiis San Nicolas came out with confidence, slamming the ball from the right side, igniting the crowd. On the other side of the net, FD’s setter Steffen Surban displayed impressive precision, setting up the ball for middle Zaiden Mendiola to crush. The Friars started to take a small lead as Del Carmen switched between unanticipated tips and powerful hits, surprising the Islander defense.

After an ace by Islander Tyler Ando, the whole team was rejuvenated, gaining momentum to push to a one point lead at 18-17. It wasn’t long before the Friars returned the fire with solid teamwork to take control of the game and close the set, 25-21. 

Set 4

The Friars carried their momentum through to the fourth set, taking the Islanders on with ease. Surban was quick to the ball, working with his hitters to set up precise plays. The frustrated Islanders struggled to keep up, flustered as the Friars inched farther away. The Islanders managed to dig a few hard hits while Camden continued displaying power, but it wasn’t enough against their skillful opponents. Bamba ended the night with a bang, swinging hard from the middle straight to the ground as his teammates crowded around him to celebrate the victory. 

Bamba reflected on his team’s win, “We just had more energy than them and we just kept on killing the ball. Just trying our hardest to win. We wanted it more than them.”

He finishes his glorious night humbly, “I just want to thank my dad, Steven Bamba, for teaching me how to play volleyball and all my coaches and all of my teammates for everything they’ve done.”

TUESDAY GAMES

FD def. JFK 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14

GW def. Okkodo 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20

Harvest def. St. John’s 25-24, 17-25, 25-15, 25-21

St. Paul def. GACS 25-11, 25-12, 25-9

Sanchez def. Guam High 25-21, 25-22, 25-21

Tiyan def. GAA 27-25, 29-27, 25-20

Notre Dame def, Southern 25-19, 25-13, 25-12