Weekend volleyball rocks Hyatt

The tandem of Tyce Mister and Gabriel White teamed up to take the men’s title in last weekend’s 2-on-2 Beach Volleyball Tournament at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, while Milli Saiki and Melissa Hallaby returned to the sand to regain their swagger as the top team in the female division.

Mister and White cruised through the tournament without a loss before twice downing the duo of Don Dunlop and Kitinan Intharaluk with identical scores of 21-19 to earn 15 points.

On the women’s side, Saiki and Hallaby won their second tournament title in three attempts as they downed Laurie Peterka and Linda Anastacio in the finals. Saiki and Hallaby had to work their way through the loser’s bracket after getting edged out by Peterka and Anastacio 21-18 early on.

Twelve teams of local players competed in the tournament that served as the final qualifier for the Northern Marianas Islands Volleyball Association in their quest to send a team to the 2005 South Pacific Mini-Games in Palau this July.

The event was billed as a weekend long event, but tournament coordinator Faheem Ebrahim was pleased that everything went smoothly enough to get the players through everything so quickly.

“All of the players put forth strong efforts all day, and they cooperated well so that we could wrap up everything in one day. I couldn’t have asked for a better showing,” Ebrahim said.

Dunlop and Intharaluk were relegated to the ranks of the losers’ bracket after dropping their first match to the would-be champs, 21-19, but rebounded to wallop Max Kuan and Derrick Tudela 21-14 to advance to the finals for a rematch.

Even though his team finished as the runner up, Intharaluk is still in the catbird seat, as he stands atop the NMIVA rankings with 52 points, while teammate Dunlop is in second with 41. White is on the outside looking in with 33 points in third place, but that all hinges on whom Intharaluk chooses for a teammate.

Meanwhile, the soon-to-be champs in the women’s division made quick work of third place finishers Teresa Miller and Arcy Moncrief, 21-12, before getting revenge in back-to-back sets, 21-13 and 17-15.

The win unofficially puts Saiki and Hallaby atop the NMIVA rankings, as the “Peruvian Punisher” leads with 41 points, while Hallaby finished with 39 to squeak by Peterka, who ended up in third place with 37 points.

Next up for NMIVA is this weekend’s 13th Annual Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Tournament running from Friday, Feb. 25, through Sunday, Feb. 27, from 9am to 6pm at the Pacific Islands Club. The largest and longest running volleyball tournament in the Micronesia will feature some of the top players from the Pacific Rim competing for an assortment of cash & prizes.

The registration fee is $50.00 per each two-person team, and entries must be received no later than Thursday, Feb. 24. For more information, please contact Jon Cramer by calling 235-6231 ext. 5147 or via e-mail at jon@picsaipan.com.