MGCNLCA’s 18U volleyball team swept the gold, earning three straight victories in a do-or-die setup for the GPSOA tournament last February 2 to February 3 at MGCNL’s volleyball court.
Led by head coach, Thelma Rojas, and team captain, Jamina See, this tournament was the first competition for the team for the year 2023 since the Smart Volleyball Tournament last year, where MGCNLCA’s 16U team brought home bronze.
Since their less-than-favorable podium finish, the team looked forward to doing better in future tournaments, especially in the GPSOA tournament.
Given the home court advantage, the players made sure to make the most of the venue. Coach Thelma said, “You shouldn’t be intimidated by any of the teams. This is your court.”
To start off the tournament, the team went up against Mt. Moriah Christian Academy (MMCA) wherein they earned a quick victory in a three-set sweep finishing with scores, 5-25, 9-25, 8-25.
The athletes made sure to take the match since all teams with a loss would immediately be eliminated from the competition.
As MMCA got eliminated from the tournament along with three other teams, MGCNLCA moved on to battle The Covenant Montessori School (TMCA) in the semifinals, ending with scores, 7-25, 25-23, 3-25,10-25.
The game took a turn in the second set as errors were frequent among the MGCNLCA players. However, the players remained confident and were able to redeem themselves in the sets to come.
With 2 previous victories secured, MGCNLCA faced HSL-Braille Integrated School in the final, championship game of the tournament, again dominating in a quick game ending with scores, 4-24,14-25, 6-25.
Setter Peach Diño commented, “GPSOA was just the beginning, soon we'll have to face bigger and stronger teams in APSA-Tapat and if God-willing, NCR. But nevertheless, it was a great opportunity for our team to improve on our volleyball skills, and also to build up on our group dynamics with one another.”
After finishing with a gold for GPSOA, the team is looking forward to APSA-TAPAT, GPSOA’s continuation, where more challenging teams will be participating, hoping to bring home gold once again.
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