Dragons split in double duty in IWVBL

Whether there was a change in the schedule, or the girls were just extra fired up to play, the Dragons of the Island Wide Volleyball League played in back-to-back games on Thursday night, and finished with a tally in each column of the win-loss tree.

Aleta Glaze and her team of leapers took the battle to the Hitters (1-6) by unleashing an aerial onslaught of aces and kills upon the unsuspecting defenders to take the first set, 25-15.

Though the score was closer in the second set, the outcome was the same, as Rika Matsumoto, Stephanie Arnold, Kristine Cruz, Trishia Catalla, Becky Covarrubias and Glaze tallied nine kills and an ace in a 25-21 shootout with the hitters.

With the win, the Dragons moved into a tie for the top spot with Pikan Gaga at 7-1, but they surrendered their share of the title about 45 minutes later, as they fell to Pikan Gaga in their second match of the night.

Lorna Iginoef made sure that Pikan Gaga would stand alone again, as she hand delivered five kills in the first set, en route to her team securing a 25-21 victory. Iginoef and company kept up the fire, as Connie Camacho and Percy Torres put the finishing touches on the game clinching 25-18 second set.

None of the men’s teams had to pull a double shift on the North court on Thursday night, but the Ol’ Aces (2-5) were moving around the court so fast that one would think that they had twice as many people bumping, setting and spiking in their two-set sweep of the Floaters (1-7).

After being edged in five of their last six matches, the Ol’ Aces finally put it all together, as they won their second game of the season. The two-pronged attack of Jeremy Winkfield and Jack Kabriel was more than the Floaters could withstand, as the duo combined for five kills and an ace in the 25-16 first set whirlwind, and 10 kills and two aces in the 25-15 second set finisher.

The final match for the men’s side pitted two teams with first place ambitions, as Shag (5-2) and the NMC Proa (3-4) played to a three-set climax that thrilled the fans that stuck around to see the finish.

Mike Olaitiman launched a pair of unstoppable serves, and capped off a nice pass from his teammate for a kill in the first set to lead Shag to a 25-22 victory.

Gino Libuw was on fire for the Proa in the first set, but his four kills weren’t enough to get his team the win. Libuw’s pair of high-flying spikes helped do the trick in the second set, as he and teammates Marino Pungilug and Dave Tisa combined for seven kills and an ace in their 25-11 smoking of Shag.

With the match knotted up at a set apiece, both teams took a breather before returning to the court for the final race to 15 points. The young collegians were unable to get into a rhythm, as they were only able to pick up a point here and there. Shag had no problem feeling their “mojo”, as the rocballers laid a smack down upon the Proa in the final set, to the tune of 15-9