Volleyball mania hits PIC

The Miller Lite Four Person Beach Volleyball League at Pacific Islands Club concluded on Thursday night. Less than 48 hours later the Miller Lite Spring Showdown 2000 started up.

There was plenty of beach volleyball action last week at PIC. “There are definitely some more bodies out there today, myself included,” commented league tournament director Jon Cramer.

Thursday night was Coffee Care’s final chance to finish the league on top. They took on G-Money & Crew in a do or die match. A loss, and Coffee Care could drop as low as fourth place. One of the largest crowds of the season saw a stellar performance by league MVP Tyce Mister

Once again, Mr. Mister was everywhere and banged away at every set he got. G-Money & Crew seemed stunned in the first game, losing (11-5).

They regrouped during the break, and came back strong in the second game. Tenacious defense kept the game tight as the ladies on both sides of the net had several great digs. At 9-9 it was anybody’s game, but service-receiving errors put the dagger in G-Money & Crew. Three players went for a serve in the middle, only to shank it.
Coffee Care took the game (11-9) and sealed the league title.

“Mister gets all of the credit, but we carried him all season,” said Sean Frink. “I feel under appreciated, but at least we won it all.”

In earlier games, the Fresh Spring Rolls helped the Misfits complete a perfect 0-8 record on the season. “The Misfits were a great team,” said Cramer, “they came every week and gave it all they had. It takes a lot of motivation and spirit to keep doing that when you lose that many weeks in a row.” The Spring Rolls finished third in the league standings behind the Hot 98sters.

Following the final match, awards were given out for first place. Coffee Care received $300 and free entry into the four-person portion of the Miller Lite Spring Showdown 2000. The Hot 98sters also received free. entry into the Spring Showdown 2000. Mister wrapped up the Most Valuable Player award based on his season long dedication to two teams. Will “Bamboo” McCue of Managaha got the coveted Most Inspirational Player award for his non-stop enthusiasm and his huge bar tab every Thursday?

With league play done it was time to invite some other teams to get into the action. Seven four-person teams showed up Saturday morning for the Spring Showdown 2000.

After winning the league, Coffee Care was the favorite to win the tournament. The Hot 98sters showed up ready to prove they deserved to be number one, but it was a team from Guam that dominated the action in pool B, Three Haoles, One Local, and One Homey won both of their pool play games in convincing fashion.

In pool A, the Fresh Spring Rolls won every game, including a (15-6) dismantling of Coffee Care. For the second time in three weeks the Spring Rolls had surprised Coffee Care, proving to be a true thorn in their side.

When it came to the double elimination bracket, the team from Guam crushed everyone in their path to the finals. In the loser’s bracket finals, the Spring Rolls avenged their league losing to the Hot 98sters, 11-7. This set up a “David versus Goliath” final. No member of the Spring Rolls is over 5’9″. On the other side of the net stood three six foot plus players. This time “Goliath” got the victory, 15-8).

Three Haoles, One Local and One Homey pounded everything the Bangkok Bomber and crew threw at them. Ron Pelham owned the net with thundering spikes and brick wall blocking. The Bomber could only say, “Too big and too tough.”

On Sunday there were two separate tournaments, men’s doubles and women’s triples. Ten teams showed for the men’s division and four for the women’s division. The women played a four-team round robin and a double elimination playoff. Team DAB won both the pool play and the playoffs. They met a scrappy Shinkinzu team in the finals, but the experience of Andrea Von Smocken helped her team win the final (15-6). Andrea was also on the winning team on Saturday. She did well for the weekend, winning a substantial amount of cash, Miller promotional items, and room stay packages at Pacific Islands Club Saipan.

In the men’s bracket, Russ Quinn and Nan Intharaluk swept pool A, and Hillary Toves and Brian Goulsby did the same in pool B. Of the ten teams that signed up eight qualified for the double elimination bracket.

The first round didn’t have any Lipsets as the top four .seeds advanced, but Tyce Mister and Blaine Rogers started clicking in the second round. They beat Toves Goutsby (11-6) and Quinn/Intaraluk (11-8) advancing to the final. After losing in the second round to Quinn/Intaraluk (11-4), Jon Cramer and Douglas Mauro came through the loser’s side of the bracket in dramatic fashion. First they defeated Toves/Goulsby (11-8). Then they came from behind to gain revenge on Quinn/Intaraluk (12-10). Mister/Rogers fell behind 2-4 early in the final game, but their stamina and endurance helped them crush Cramer/Mauro (15-5).

Both Rogers and Mister had a great tournament on their way to Rogers’ first championship of his young volleyball career. They took home $260, Miller promotional items, and room stay packages at Pacific Islands Club Saipan.