KNIGHTS ROLL PAST TITANS, AIM TO DETHRONE FRIARS

By Jay Leon Guerrero

The stage is set for Thursday, May 21st, as the #1 and #2 seeds meet to compete for the high school boys volleyball title at the Southern High School gym. Both top seeds secured their spots in the final on Tuesday; the Father Duenas Friars defeated the Notre Dame Royals 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-19, while the St. John’s Knights smoked the Tiyan Titans 25-14, 25-19, 25-13.

The Knights played consistently all night: Libero Elijah Dewan, middle blocker Andrew Baker, outside hitter Knathan Davis, and setter Jerrick Palomares all came up big for the Knights, leading from start to finish in all three sets.

The Friars, led by head coach Steve Pangelinan, are looking to extend their dynasty and secure an eighth straight title. After dropping the first set to the Royals, FD recovered to win in four. Meanwhile, the Knights dominated the Titans in three sets, setting up an intriguing championship matchup. St. John’s only loss this season was a five-set match against the Friars during the regular season.

“This team is special because most of the starters have played together since middle school,” said St. John’s middle blocker Harry Vitale, who led his team with six kills and three blocks. Outside hitter Eric Kwon, who contributed five kills, added, “The most important thing we focused on was playing for each other. We are going to prioritize that in our next game against FD. If we do that, we will play at the same level we did tonight.”

The Friars have a history of performing well on the big stage. Last season, they faced a similar challenge from a senior-heavy Harvest Eagles team but won in four sets. Looking ahead to the final, Vitale noted, “We are going to have to block out their crowd and feed off the cheers from our crowd. We also have to give feedback during the game and listen to our coaches.”

In the semifinals, Tiyan’s Nathan Aguigui recorded a game-high eight kills, while teammate Travis Barcinas added six. The Titans will face the Royals in the consolation game for third place this Thursday.

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