Covarrubias proud of her wards

They were always among the top teams in the Private Schools Varsity Indoor Volleyball Tournament, but coach Becky Covarrubias and the Grace Christian Academy Eagles didn’t have an easy road to the championship yesterday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

After winning one of the most exciting matches in the history of the league, Covarrubias expressed her happiness and said that she hopes it’s just the start of things to come.

“I’m so excited. I’m so proud of my team. I of course give God all of the glory for our victory and the great season that we had. Hopefully there will be more to come next year. Each year this league keeps going on it gets better and better,” she said.

The coach said that hard-hitting captain Jose Mafnas had a lot to do with the team’s victory over Saipan International School and that he earned her vote as the tournament’s most valuable player.

“He’s a smart player. He can set off he needs to, he pulls the open court, he can hit, he can serve, he’s a good all-around player, and he’s smart. He tells the other players where to go and how to play. He’s a good leader and he’s my captain also,” she said.

After cruising in the first set with a 25-15 victory over the Geckos, Covarrubias’ Eagles were on the other side of the beating in the second set when SIS forced a third set with a dominating 25-11 win.

The coach said that while her opponents played tough, her varsity ballers have their heads into the game after the opening set.

“It was mental at that point. I think we were a little bit too sure of ourselves and it was a mental game. We had to pull it out in that third set,” she said.

That didn’t matter to the Geckos as they kept piling on points in the second and Covarrubias said that her opponents gelled and benefited from the power of Melisa Halaby.

“SIS played really well together as a team. Melisa is an awesome player. They really improved throughout the season and they really came together in the end,” she said.

It would have been easy for the Geckos to fold after the opening set massacre but SIS head coach Rob Epley said that his team never lost sight of the bigger picture and focused on timely play.

“I am really proud of the team. They hung in there and never gave up. I tried to instill in them to always play the point that we’re on and to play to the last point. I think they got the point. They never hung their heads and they hung in there,” he said.