Lost Boyz beat Managaha Chiefs in clash of titans

The grounds at the Oleai Sports Complex trembled during a clash of the volleyball titans at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium on Tuesday night, as the Lost Boyz were able to withstand the fierce charge from the Managaha Chiefs to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games in the regular season of the Island Wide Volleyball League.

Led by the leaping prowess of Freddy Pelisamen and Nan Intharaluk, the Lost Boyz came back from losing the first set to even the count at a set apiece, and then won the tiebreaking race to 15 points in the third and final set.

The Chiefs (5-2) were assembled well before the match, and their readiness went on display right from the start, as they completely outclassed the Lost Boyz in the lopsided first set, 25-16.

Berny Neth was a one-man serving machine, as the Chiefs ran off nine consecutive points under his watch. The Lost Boyz couldn’t get a bounce to go their way, and found themselves in a 9-3 hole early in the match. Failing to get any momentum going, the Boyz succumbed under the weight of Neth, Jazz Roscow, Dimas Omar, Apple Samson, Andrew Ortega, and Lucky Sharry.

The Chiefs’ celebration was short lived, however, as the Lost Boyz turned the tables on their closest competitors to take the second set by a 25-17 score. This time around it was Intharaluk who provided the momentum, as the “Thai Bomber” served up 11 straight points to get his team into a groove.

While Intharaluk was providing the serves, Nick Castro was providing the finesse, as the cagey veteran kept the Chiefs guessing with his well placed faux sets. Complementing Castro’s crafty game was the thundering spiker Pelisamen, who took to the air gracefully, and delivered the volleyball back to Earth with a vengeance.

With the match knotted up, Intharaluk returned to his service rhythm, and helped to lead the Lost Boyz to the 7-0 Promised Land.

With the loss, the Chiefs fell into third place, as No Fear improved their record to 6-1 with a convincing victory over the winless Monarchs (0-6) in straight sets, 25-18 and 25-20.

Gabriel White and company were on a mission once they knew that they had a chance to secure sole possession of second place, and they got their engine revving early. White delivered a pair of kills in the first set, and continued to lay it on the Monarchs in the second with two aces and four kills.

On the women’s side of the court, the She Devils (6-2) proved once again that they deserve to be among the upper echelons of the league, as they downed Bootylicious (4-5) in straight sets, 25-21 and 25-13.

Chariss Ruluked and Arcy Moncrief served up the lion’s share of the points in the first set, as the duo accounted for half of the work from behind the line. There was something about the way that Emi Oiterong was serving the ball in the second set because Ruluked, Moncrief, Elaine Ogarto, Mayumi Aguon, Jennifer Leskosek, and Frances Somorang were motivated when she took the reins.

By the end of her serving stint, the She Devils were just three points away from winning the clinching set.

The other women’s match was a little less exciting, as the Hitters (2-5) scratched a mark in the win column when T-8 (1-7) failed to field enough players to make a game of it.