GCA 1, Mt. Carmel keep streaks; SIS wins

A Saipan International School player waits for the ball to drop for a return to Seventh Day Adventist during their game in the middle school volleyball league last Wednesday at the SIS court in As Lito. (Whit Altizer)

Grace Christian Academy 1 and Mt. Carmel School stretched their winning runs, while Saipan International School notched another victory in the middle school division of the 2018-2019 Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association Volleyball League last week.

The Geckos were pitted against the Seventh Day Adventist last Wednesday at the SIS court in As Lito and gained the outright win after sweeping the visiting squad. SIS posted a 25-19 win in the first set and then pulled off a 25-22 triumph in the second to earn its fourth straight victory after losing its debut (to Agape Christian School 1).

After their win at home, the Geckos headed to Mt. Carmel School last Friday and attempted to extend their streak. However, the Knights derailed SIS, and the hosts team went on to bag victory No. 4 after falling to GCA 2 in their season opener. Official scores of the SIS-Mt. Carmel tiff last Thursday were unavailable at press time, but the match was played in three sets.

With the win and its 4-1 record, Mt. Carmel moved up to solo second place in the team standings, while SIS dropped to third with its 4-2 mark.

GCA 1, on the other hand, kept the top spot, as it improved to a 5-0 slate after outlasting Agape 1 at the Torchbearers turf in Middle Road last Thursday.

The Eagles eased past Agape 1 in the first set, 25-14, but failed to get the job done early when the host team fought back in the second with a 25-18 triumph. Then in the deciding third set, GCA 1 regrouped and delivered down the stretch by taking a 15-9 victory.

Agape 1 absorbed its second loss against three wins to fall at the No. 4 spot in the team standings of the eight-squad competition.

In other results, Saipan Community School registered back-to-back victories after a 0-4 start to jump from last place to No. 6.

SCS finally broke into the win column last Wednesday after downing Agape 2 in straight sets, 25-14, 25-18. The Tsunami then made it two in a row after slipping past SDA last Friday. SCS prevailed in the opening set, 25-17, but SDA recovered in the second with a 25-13 triumph to extend the game. In the third set, SCS regained its bearing and recorded a 15-7 win to hand SDA its fifth loss in six games.

SDA is at seventh place in the team standings, just slightly ahead of Agape 2, which is still winless after six matches.

Agape 2 hopes to end its drought when it faces Agape 1 in one of the four games scheduled for tomorrow. Other pairings for Tuesday are GCA 1 vs SIS; Mt. Carmel vs SCS, and GCA 2 vs SDA. GCA and Mt. Carmel are the host schools.