Saipan Southern sweeps Kagman

Saipan Southern High School notched its seventh win in the 2018-2019 PSS Interscholastic Volleyball League after shutting down Kagman High School last Tuesday at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

The Lady Rays eked out a 25-22 victory over the Lady Ayuyus in the first set and then prevailed in another closely fought duel in the second, 25-20, to take the outright win. Despite its early triumph, Saipan Southern was still at it and this time cruised to a 15-5 win to complete the sweep. With their 7-2 record (unofficial), the Lady Rays are in second place in the team standings in the seven-squad field behind Grace Christian Academy (6-1).

The final rankings in the regular season will determine the seeding in next weekend’s double-elimination tournament. All seven Saipan high school teams will advance to the playoff round and maybe joined by Tinian and Rota, which would automatically take the No. 5 and 6 seeds, respectively.

Mt. Carmel School has a chance to finish in the Top 4 with three playing days left in the regular season (including this afternoon’s matches) as it improved to a 6-3 record following a pair of victories last Tuesday.

The Lady Knights first challenged Saipan International School (5-4) and needed three sets to beat the Lady Geckos. MCS topped the first set, 25-20, but missed the automatic victory, as SIS registered a 25-18 triumph in the second. In the third set, SIS and Mt. Carmel went back and forth before the latter escaped with a 15-23 victory.

The Lady Knights then took only a few minutes of rest before facing Kagman and rode on the momentum of their earlier victory for an emphatic 25-9 win in the first set. While the opening set was a one-sided affair, the second was a totally different story, as neither team seemed willing to give in before Mt. Carmel blinked, allowing Kagman to pull off a 28-26 triumph. The close battle between MCS and Kagman continued in the deciding third set with the Lady Knights prevailing, 15-13, to remain in the top half of the team standings. Kagman dropped to a 3-7 record.

In other results last Tuesday, Kagman and MHS defeated Agape Christian School.

The Lady Dolphins were the first ones to meet Agape and eased their way to a straight set victory, 25-6, 25-7, 15-6. Kagman, on the other hand, won two out of the three sets of its match versus Agape. The Lady Ayuyus outclassed the Torchbearers in the first set, 25-20, before the latter surprised the former with a 25-21 triumph in the second. Kagman then avoided Agape’s upset axe after winning the decider, 15-9.

Meanwhile, four matches are scheduled today with GCA returning to the court and playing two games after taking a break last Tuesday. GCA will first square off against MHS at 4:30pm on the north court before battling Kagman at 5:30pm on the same court. The two other pairings this afternoon will have Saipan Southern colliding against Mt. Carmel and SIS challenging MHS.