Photo: David Garbutt of SJC won the Most Valuable Player award

by Charles Gladden

BELMOPAN, Mon. Nov. 14, 2022

Over the weekend, the National Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) held its 2022 national volleyball championships at the UB Gymnasium in Belmopan, where the four high school regional champions for males and females competed for the national title.

In Game 1 on Friday afternoon, SCA defeated the southern champs, Toledo Community College Girls (25 – 8, 25 – 15, 25 – 16). The northern champs, Orange Walk Technical High School, beat the western champs, Sacred Heart College, in game 2 in four sets (25 – 18, 25 -22, 22 – 25, 25 – 18). Game 3 saw SJC boys defeating TCC boys in three sets (25 – 15, 25 – 17, 25 – 17), and Muffles College High School edged past Belmopan Methodist High School in four sets (25 – 18, 20 – 25, 25 – 20, 25 – 17) in the final game of the day.

After the victory against TCC, Sharlene Johnson, head coach for SCA, spoke to us about her team’s victory.

“I put in my strongest six, and that is how that score took place. For the other sets, I made a lot of changes, because I wanted to give playing time as well as keep the distance of the score so that is basically. Hence the reason, we end up winning by that score,” she said.

In the consolation game on Saturday morning, TCC girls secured third place after defeating Sacred Heart College in four sets (25 – 18, 25 – 18, 22 – 25, 25 – 18), and TCC boys also claimed third place by defeating Belmopan Methodist High School in four sets (25 – 18, 20 – 25, 25 – 20, 25 – 17). Later that day, in the championship game, SCA girls defeated Orange Walk Technical High School in three sets (25 -10, 25 -5, 25 – 13), and SJC boys defeated their opponent, Muffles College, in three sets (25 – 9, 25 – 21, 25 – 8).

The SJC team are repeat national champions, while the SCA team has won their 13th consecutive national title. David Garbutt of SJC and Nisaan Martinez of SCA received the Most Valuable Player award.