FD VOLLEYBALL A STEP AWAY FROM 8TH STRAIGHT TITLE

The FD Friars are one win away from winning their 8th straight high school boys volleyball championship after a four-set semifinals win over the Notre Dame Royals 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-19 Tuesday night at the FD Phoenix Center.

The Friars take their undefeated record into Thursday night’s championship matchup against the #2 St. John’s Knights to be held at the Southern High gym in Santa Rita. The two top teams battled to a five-setter exactly two weeks ago, obviously won by the Friars.

(Note: the ISA and IIAAG leagues just two years ago. FD’s streak stems back to when the leagues were split)

The last time FD lost a match was last season to none other than the Royals. ND had its eyes on another big upset, this time with a ticket to the finals riding on the line.

The Royals came out with their offense running smoothly in the opening set behind the attacks of Takoda Piper and Gabriel Duenas. ND jumped ahead and the Friars were unable to catch up – and it didn’t help that FD committed eight hitting errors.

“ND played so differently than when we faced them in the regular season,” Friars head coach Steve Pangelinan said. “They were very improved, and played so consistently. We had to buckle down and minimize our errors in order to match them.”

Buckle down they did. Their hitting picked up and the errors went down – the formula necessary for a talented group like the Friars to cruise through the next three sets that turned a potential upset to a sure-shot advancement to the championships.

Saul Bamba found his groove and was reaching heights the ND opponents couldn’t in finishing with a game-high 17 kills. Jace Aguon added a dozen kills and Antonio Egurrola tossed in 10 kills.

LAST STEP – THE FINALS

FD is no stranger to this. Always a powerhouse in boys volleyball, its championship or bust. With the game on neutral ground in the spacious Southern High gym, the Friars and Knights will lay it all on the line for the 2026 title.

“St. John’s just beat a tough Tiyan team in three sets,” coach Pangelinan said. “I expect the final match against them to be very tough.”

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