Beach volleyball springs to life at PIC

A number of Saipan’s finest players returned to the sand court behind the Pacific Islands Club on Tuesday night with a clean slate, as the 7th Annual Spring Co-ed Four’s Beach Volleyball League got underway with the first four games of the season.

Players, tourists, and fans of sport were on hand to watch the spirited action alongside the Lazy River as Lite U Up, Dirk Digglers, Just Put It In, and Chafed Grundle started their seasons off on the right foot with opening night wins.

Captain Linda Anastacio’s power-packed Lite U Up squad was the first bunch of bumpers, setters, and spikers to notch a win as they swept the Marianas Dolphin Splashers by a combined score of 33-9 through three sets.

After skunking the Splashers in the first set, 11-0, Lite U Up let up a bit by ceding five points in the clincher and four in the finale. By the end of the night, Lite U Up took the league’s top spot with the fewest points against, but they weren’t the only team that scored a perfect 33 points.

Lite U Up was the first of three foursomes that swept the trio of teams from MHS as both the MHS Dolphin Divers and Leapers stumbled out of the gates.

Dirk Digglers 3, MHS Dolphin Divers 0

While the Dirk Digglers swept the MHS Dolphin Divers, they won in anything but a convincing fashion as they eked wins by the narrowest of margins with two-point wins in each of their three sets.

The Double Ds got a taste of what the night had in store early on as the Divers pushed them into the realm of extra points with a 12-10 first set. There was little room for error in the following sets as the Divers hounded Kirk Palacios’ squad with back-to-back thrillers that went down to the wire with 11-9 finishes.

Though they walked away with a goose egg in the win column, J.J. Mality and the crew from MHS hung tough on opening night and have a chance to avenge their loss next Tuesday, May 9, when they face Lite U Up.

Just Put It In 3, MHS Dolphin Leapers 0

The third edition of the education delegation took the court with optimism but the MHS Dolphin Leapers were cut down early as Just Put It In just kept scoring to earn a win on premiere night at the PIC.

After taking the first set 11-5, Ike Diopolus’ team came together to cinch the win with a much closer 11-8 second set score. Kelly “the Krusher” Butcher out-leapt the Leapers, while the injured Kimiko Hasegawa limped across the sand to lend a hand in the victory.

Despite bagging the win, Just Put It In had no time to slack off as Mollins Episom and the Leapers scrapped for every point they could in the final set only to come two points shy.

They’ll have a chance to leap into the win column tonight when they face Stephanie Arnold’s band of sandies at 5:30pm, while Just Put It In challenges Dirk Digglers in an undefeated showdown at 8:30pm.

Chafed Grundle 2, Last Call 1

The only team that didn’t sweep its way to victory was Chafed Grundle, as the talented squad had a difficult time calling quits when facing Last Call under the lights in the final match of the night.

Top overall draft pick Mark McDonald was a bit late to the game but his presence was immediately felt as the Grundle scored a bundle when he hit the court. Together with Chris Nelson, Heather Kennedy, Mia Giacomazzi, and Warwick “Not So” Lowe, the Chafed crew roared to an 11-6 win in the first set.

Despite a convincing opener, the Grundle took a tumble as Amanda Puleo gave an inspirational mid-set speech that rallied Last Call to a rousing 11-8 win to even the match at a set apiece.

With the game on the line, the Grundle’s triumvirate of McDonald, Nelson, and Kennedy powered out the points to deliver a narrow 11-9 win in the finale.