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Peterka-Kennedy reaches century mark
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Posted on Feb 05 2006
The talented tandem of Laurie Peterka and Heather Kennedy took another step toward representing the CNMI in the 2006 Micronesian Games by creaming the competition during the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association’s fourth and final open qualifying tournament at the Pacific Islands Club on Saturday.
Peterka-Kennedy finished their four-weekend swing with 100 total points after easily dispatching each of their three opponents in the most recent outing on the San Antonio sand. Despite the smallest turnout in the series, the women provided plenty of excitement to the fans of the sand during the round robin at the home of Siheky the kingfisher.
With only four teams tossing their proverbial hats into the ring, tournament officials decided to opt for a round-robin affair for the qualifying points, and Peterka-Kennedy took advantage by first knocking off the duo of “Kawai” Izumi Kawakami and Amanda Sparkman, 21-13.
Peterka-Kennedy scored its second win by beating one half of last year’s Mini Games combo, Melissa Halaby, and private school’s volleyball league MVP Lena Guzman, 21-11.
Tournament perfection was attained when Peterka-Kennedy dusted the other half of the Mini Games combo, Mili “the Peruvian Punisher” Saiki and Rima Halaby, 21-14, to wrap up the day a flawless 3-0.
Kawakami-Sparkman took the runner-up nod after downing Saiki-Halaby, 21-9, and Halaby-Guzman, 21-12, to finish 2-1 on the day, while Halaby-Guzman defeated Saiki-Halaby, 21-13, for their only win.
With 100 points, Peterka-Kennedy earned the top spot in the final tournament, while with a pair of firsts, a second, and a fifth place tournament finish, while Halaby-Guzman have 84 points with a second, two thirds, and a fifth. Fellow rising stars Stephanie Arnold and Jazmine Anastacio finished in third with 66 points, while veterans Benylynn Mettao and Sia Maui Dela Cruz came in fourth with 44 points.
All that remains now is NMIVA’s final best-of-three competition between Peterka-Kennedy and Halaby-Guzman to ultimately decide who will march behind the latte stone, star, and mwarmwar this summer. The action returns to the PIC this Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 5:30pm.
