Top teams continue trend in IWVBL

After pausing last Thursday to allow for the championships of the Interscholastic Volleyball League, the Island Wide Volleyball League resumed play at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium on Tuesday night, as three of the top teams returned to add to their cache of wins.

The Managaha Chiefs (4-1), No Fear (4-1), and the Dragons (5-1) all scratched another tally into the win-loss column with victories in the post-Christmas match-ups.

The men’s league got started with a thriller between the Chiefs and NMC Proa (2-3) that went the full three sets on the north court. Dimas Omar, Apple Samson, and Lucky Sharry all led the charge for the Chiefs in the first set with a pair of kills apiece en route to taking the opener by a 25-19 score.

The intensity of the closely contested first set was mirrored in the second, but this time it was the Proa that emerged with 25 points, as Gino Libuw lowered the boom with three kills, and teammate Bony Kapwich added a pair to even the set count at one each with the 25-22 win.

The Chiefs took the third set by force, as they scored half of their points with kills from Samson, Andrew Ortega, Bern Neth, and Jazz Roscow. With the win, the Chiefs remain one game behind the first place Lost Boyz (5-0), and were temporarily alone in second place.

Both teams are back in action next week, as the Chiefs take on the Ol’Aces (1-3) on Thursday, Jan. 6 at 7:30pm, while the NMC Proa plays in the 6:30pm game against the Floaters.

The Chiefs didn’t enjoy the second place solitude for very long, as No Fear sank the Floaters (1-5) in the late game to keep pace. While the fearless spikers swept the Floaters in two sets of work, the underdog team fought hard to make a game of it. After the Floaters went down hard in the first set 25-17, they rallied together and hung around to tie the second at 23 points apiece before finally succumbing to Gabriel White and company, 25-23.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Floaters, as they return to take on the NMC Proa next week, and No Fear will have their hands full when they play a skilled Shag team (3-1) on Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 6:30pm.

As the men’s league rocked the north court, the women’s league lit up the south in the final night of first round action. Two of the top thee teams met on the rubber-coated surface of the Oleai facility, as the Dragons tamed the She Devils (3-2) in straight sets, 25-17 and 25-21. By doing so, the Dragons moved into sole possession of second place—a game behind the undefeated Pikan Gaga (6-0).

Aleta Glaze and her pack of Dragons went on the prowl early, as Kristine Cruz, Rika Matsumoto, Erika Komatsu, Trishia Catalla, and Stephanie Arnold teamed up to snatch the first set with four kills and an ace from Cruz.

Frances Somorang tried to light a fire under the She Devils in hopes that they would slay the Dragons in the second set, but the trio of Matsumoto, Glaze, and Komatsu proved too much.

The Dragons continue their quest for the top spot in the women’s league on Tuesday, Jan. 6, when they look to improve their record against Haz Been (1-4) at 6:30pm. The She Devils also face Haz Been in their next contest, but they will meet them two days earlier, on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6:30pm.

The women wrapped up the night with a spirited match between Bootylicious (2-4) and T-8 (1-4) that went the full three set distance. The teams were deadlocked at a set apiece after the first two sets, with identical point totals of 46 points before Bootylicious prevailed in the third to edge T-8 by a 15-13 score.

Bootylicious will try for their third win at 7:30pm on Thursday, Jan. 6, when they meet the Hitters (1-4), while T-8 faces the brunt of Pikan Gaga on Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 7:30pm.