Knights oust Friars in three sets

GUAM-The St. John's Knights advanced to the semifinals after defeating the Father Duenas Friars last night.

The Knights won 25-18, 22-25, 25-15 in their Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam Boys' Volleyball League quarterfinal playoff game at FD's Phoenix Center.

"Both teams played excellent," said Knights coach Chris Shepherd. "FD is a great team and I think both teams are pretty well matched."

The Knights were relentless in keeping a huge lead in final set. Knights' Keoki Kakigi started the momentum of the set by serving an ace for their first point. After a 6-all tie, the Knights scored seven unanswered points. A few points later, Knights' captain Reyn Johnson jump-served two aces in a row. Nick Gill earned the Knights' match point when he served an ace. The game ended when a Friars' ball went out of bounds.

The second set was neck-and-neck with the Knights leading most of the way. Ashton Wong's kill and Steven Finona's ace finally gave the Friars a lead of 23-22.

The score was close throughout the first set. Christian Sorenson made a kill to give the Knights a 17-15 advantage. After the Knights had a 19-18 lead, they scored six unanswered points for the win.

The Knights will face the Simon Sanchez Sharks 5:30 p.m tomorrow at the University of Guam field house for their semifinal game.

"We're going to practice hard for them," said Johnson. "Hopefully, we're going to come out victorious and move onto the championship game."

Johnson made 11 kills and served four aces, while Sorenson made seven kills and served an ace for the Knights. Wong made 13 kills and served two aces, while Finona made three kills and served two aces for the Friars.