Ol’Aces upends Chiefs in night of sweeps

Only one day into the playoffs of the Island Wide Volleyball League and one of the top seeds already made its exit Monday night, as Managaha Chiefs were upended by the Ol’Aces in two sets of furious action at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, which left the regular season runner-ups scratching their heads as they left the north court.

Eli Rangamar and his band of seventh-place bumpers, setters, and spikers bounced the Chiefs 25-22 in the first set, and 25-21 to complete the sweep on the men’s division postseason opening night.

Jeremy Winkfield leapt to lofty heights before sending lasers to the rubberized surface of the floor of the Oleai facility, while the imposing Abong Camacho and crafty Jerry Ayuyu made plays from all over the court. Dexter Dillay was a blocking machine for the Ol’Aces, as was Ron Olopai, but Dillay added some firepower to the mix with a handful of kills that helped seal the fate of the Chiefs.

The sweeps in the men’s division got started in the earlier game, as No Fear made quick work of the Floaters in two sets, 25-15 and 25-22. The regular season champs wasted no time with the regular season chumps, as No Fear cruised to a 10-point victory in the first set. Gabriel White and company combined for six kills through a series of well communicated screens and cross-court passes, while serving up four aces from behind the line.

The fearless six returned to the north court for more in the second set, but the Floaters had more to offer in the rematch, but fell 25-22 despite a better showing. One of the league’s softest setters helped No Fear advance to the second round, as Taula Peter feathered up a slew of passes en route to six kills, while they received plenty of supporting fire from four aces.

With the wins, the Ol’Aces now await the winner of tonight’s match-up between the Lost Boyz and the NMC Proa, while No Fear can relax before the Chuukanos and Shag decide among themselves who advances for the second round next Monday.

The south side of the facility welcomed the return of the women’s division to the Ada Gym after a long break since they completed the regular season. The Dragons showed no signs of rust from the hiatus, as Aleta Glaze and her crew laid a 25-19, 25-9 beat down on the Haz Been in yet another sweep of the night.

Erika Komatsu racked up six kills and three aces, and teammate Stephanie Arnold fired in a pair of kills and an ace en route to their dominating dousing of the Haz Been.

Glaze hammered in three kills and an ace overall, while Kristine Cruz pounded home a pair of kills to overpower the Dragons into the second rounds of the playoffs, where they will challenge the She Devils tonight at 6:30pm.

Bootylicious will play in tonight’s late game against Pikan Gaga as a result of their triumph over the T-8 in an hour of hotly contested action that went down to the deciding third set.

The teams put an end to the sweeping phenomenon when T-8 bounced back from a 25-15 defeat in the first set to turn the tables on Bootylicious with a 25-19 score that evened the match. Benylynn Mettao and the hard-working Bootylicious squad prevailed in the clincher, as the more experienced girls were on the winning end of a 15-5 score to advance to the finals.