#By TENAJH SWEETING
#tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
#THE Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) volleyball championships commenced this past weekend at the Anatol Rodgers Gymnasium.
#The championship round featured volleyball play from both the junior and senior teams.
#Both divisions showed up for game one as three of the four games played went to three sets.
#For the juniors, the HO Nash Lions’ girls and DW Davis Royals boys sit comfortably after defeating their competitors in game one of the championship rounds.
#The Lions snatched game one away from the SC McPherson Sharks. Meanwhile, the Royals took down the HO Nash junior boys team to go up 1-0 in the series.
#For the seniors, the CR Walker Knights’ girls brought home game one after defeating the CV Bethel Stingrays in two sets.
#Additionally, the CI Gibson Rattlers claimed game one after winning against the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins in three hard-fought sets.
#In the first game of the day, the junior girls put on a show against each other in their first championship game.
#The Lions and Sharks gave it all that they had against each other in the three sets. In set one, the Sharks won 25-19 after 18 minutes of volleyball action. However, the Lions retaliated in set two and evened things up after beating the Sharks 25-16. After a big showing in set two, the Lions kept up their momentum which fueled them to a 15-10 win to claim game one of the junior girl’s championship series. Patty Johnson, volleyball head coach of the Lions, talked about how it felt to get the game one win in the best of three series. The coach said the game started off a bit shaky for her team due to a breakdown in communication between the girls, However, she believes that the team got it together and they will ride the momentum into game two. She credited the play of the Sharks after a competitive game but will look to make adjustments for a better showing from the Lions.
#The junior boys also brought a competitive showing to the Anatol Rodgers gymnasium this past weekend. In a bout that went to three sets, the Royals took the fight to the Lions early on winning set one 25-16 after 17 minutes of gameplay. The Lions made a comeback in set two and evened the score after winning 25-17. Despite trying to keep their hopes alive after tying the sets, the Royals took over in set three winning 15-9 to take home the game one series win.
#Mark Hanna, head coach of the Royals, talked about how it felt to emerge victorious in game one.
#“We are the underdogs as far as they are concerned, we are not supposed to be here but this team is a fighting team and the mentality is to never give up so it feels good to get the win,” Hanna said.
#He added the team will be focused coming into today’s game two and he wants them to play free, and have fun as he he feels good about their chances.
#In one of the most intense matchups on the day, the Knights and the Stingrays left it all on the court after their game one battle against each other. The senior girls exchanged a flurry of bumps, flicks, spikes, and serves in efforts to take down the opposing team. In set one, the Knights reigned supreme after defeating the Stingrays 25-20. Despite game one only being
#two sets, the Knights had their hands full in set two as both teams kept the ball active for nearly one minute on the court. Also, leading into the final minutes of the 23-minute set the Stingrays led 23-21. However, the team could not hold on and the first-seeded Knights wrapped up the final set 26-24 to seal the game one win.
#Aikia Rose, head coach of the Knights, said the team started off a bit slow in the first set but they regained focus in the second set of the day. She added that her message to the team was to pass the ball, and call for the ball. She expects that going into game two if they follow this message and play a little harder than they did on Friday they can take home a championship victory.
#Vanessa Sawyer, the setter for the Knights, was involved in some huge power plays for the winning team. She said her mindset in game one’s win was to come out and get a few big hits for her team because it is her final year in high school, and she wanted to make a big impact in the championship game.
#In the final matchup on the day, the Doris Johnson Marlins dropped game one to the CI Gibson Rattlers. The Rattlers bested the Marlins in set one 25-18. However, the Marlins mounted an attack and returned the favor in the second set shutting out the team 25-19. With the sets tied 1-1 going into the final one, the Rattlers got back into the matchup and won 15-7 to runaway with the game one win.
#The junior and senior division teams will resume the GSSSA volleyball championships at 4pm this evening at the Kendal G L Isaacs gymnasium.
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