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PLAYING their home-game away from home, the Southern High School Lady Dolphins played host to the Notre Dame Royals in last night’s IIAAG High School Girls Volleyball match at the Talofofo Community Gym. With the regular season winding down, both teams were looking to solidify their record in hopes of securing a playoff spot. Backed by a supportive crowd, both teams gave everyone in attendance a lot to cheer about. However, at the end of the night, it was the Dolphins who claimed victory after beating Notre Dame 25-21, 25-16.

Southern wasted no time building a lead in the opening set after a kill by Paige Surber and an ace by Tanya Flores made it a 4-1 game. However, the Royals didn’t let their guard down and responded with three straight points of their own to equalize the game. After being forced to call an early timeout, Southern returned to the court with fire in their eyes and went on an 8-2 run to give them a respectable lead. The trio of Jalene Perez, April Talledo and Flores combined for five kills in the surge.

Despite trailing 12-6, Notre Dame showed their toughness and determination on the court. Capitalizing on the smart hitting of Levanna Terlaje and Britney Blau, the Royals were able to knot the game at 17-17 late in the game. From that point, both teams became too cautious and each paid dearly as unforced errors allowed for points to be traded back and forth. After tying the game two more times, the Dolphins finally put together some offense to close out the set that included a service ace from Flores.

Second set

Returning to the floor in the second set, Notre Dame looked to even things up and force a third set. Two errors by the Dolphins and kills by Sheri Stanley and Muneka Taisipic gave the Royals an early 4-1 lead. It didn’t take too long for the Dolphins to regroup and answer back. Heads-up play at the net by Lorraina Sanchez combined with Notre Dame errors gave Southern the opportunity to tie the game at 7-7 later.

Both teams provided their respective fans with some excitement as hustle play and excellent defense made for long rallies. After a see-saw battle and the exchanging of points, the two teams found themselves knotted at 16-16 later in the game. However, the Dolphins showed a little more want for the victory as errors began to plague the Royals. Not being able to regroup, Notre Dame committed seven errors in the game’s final nine points. The game came to a close when Southern’s Sanchez nailed a hit for a kill.

The Dolphins and Royals will play their season finale this Friday. Notre Dame will travel to Hagåtña to square off against archrival Academy of Our Lady of Guam Cougars, while the Dolphins travel to Guam High to take on the Lady Panthers.

JV Dolphins victorious

In junior varsity action, the Lady Dolphins were able to notch a victory despite giving up a set to the Royals. Southern defeated the Royals, 25-17, 21-25, 25-10.