Lady Dolphins are new high school v-ball champs

After eight long years of Grace Christian Academy Eagles’ reign over the girls high school volleyball scene, there’s finally a new champion on top.

The undefeated Marianas High School Dolphins claimed the once-elusive title this school year after sweeping the Saipan Southern High School Lady Manta Rays in straight sets, 21-12, 21-11, on Friday at the raucous Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

As the Lady Dolphins were undefeated heading into the finals, they had a one set advantage in the best-of-5 set championship game. All they needed to do was win two straight sets to clinch the title.

Drama, emotion, and passion seeped out of every corner of the gym as the crowd’s cheers became the background noise to the battle for it all on the court.

The Lady Dolphins’ tactical plays, led by captain and national team player Erica Zandueta, ensured they landed points not just by kills but also by dinks at the net that rooted the Lady Manta Rays. Meanwhile, the Lady Manta Rays, led by senior and national player Azzy Fatialofa, made it a nightmare for the Lady Dolphins to return their hard-hit kills.

But with precision and speed, the Lady Dolphins won the first set, 21-12. The second set was an even bigger nail-biter as the Lady Manta Rays tried to stay alive. However, Fatialofa was unfortunately taken out of the game after diving for a ball and hurting herself, which stalled the match for about 10 minutes. The crowd and teams then cheered for her as she was wheeled off and the game continued.

The Lady Manta Rays played with more fervor, attempting to win the set and possibly the game for their fallen teammate, scoring back-to-back points. But the Lady Dolphins’ Zandueta, Ella Hall, and Jayme Vargas held their defenses steady and managed to swim away with the second set to wrap up the finals and etch their school’s name on the perpetual plaque after eight years of GCA’s reign.

With Zandueta, Vargas, and Hall were Charlotte Amango, Gail Amano, Jana Agbuya, Keala Takeda, Genecia Agulto, Lina Tsukagoshi, Abbie Kim, Hiromi Sasamoto, and Emma Sablan.

Zandueta, a junior, said of their win, “It feels great. I finally won after four years—since middle school so I’m really happy that I got first place. I feel like our team has improved a lot considering most of the seniors left last year, so we had to work with what we had and I feel like our team did a lot better as we practiced together.”

As for the competition this year, she said, “The competition went good. We were undefeated for seasonal games and undefeated in the playoffs so it was really good for us.”

Don Marshall Cabrera, coach of MHS' volleyball teams and has been for five years now said of their historic win, “We’ve always gotten really close, come up short, but finally we got over the hurdle and we got the job done today so it feels great.”

The season, he said, “was a very intriguing season… We went undefeated but we did have our challenges outside and as a team we all overcame those challenges and we all grew together.”

When asked what difference was the team this year compared to the past he’s coached, he said, “I feel like we’re a lot more well rounded this time. And there’s a lot of growth. The team that today is very different than the team that I had at the beginning of the season. They put in a lot of effort, come into practices, I put them in the weight room to exercise, I put them strict with what they were eating on game days, and made sure they were focused.”

As for what this means to MHS and the team, he said, “I hope that moving forward we bring the same quality and same mental attitude. I appreciate all the effort and all the energy, and all the parents willing to put up with the practices on the weekend—I appreciate everyone that was there for the girls.”