Photo: SJC Wildcats – 5x CSSSA Male Volleyball Champions 2024
by William Ysaguirre
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Nov. 6, 2024
The St. John’s College (SJC) Wildcats won their 5th consecutive Central Secondary Schools Sports Association (CSSSA) male volleyball championship in the finals at the Stars Gym in Belize City on Saturday evening, November 2.
The SJC boys dominated the Gwen Lizarraga High School boys, 3-0, in the championship final. MVP Daniel Musa and Francis Thomas led their attack, with Khayden Staine, Orion Butler and Nicholas Soberanis hammering kills on plays set by Leonardo Riverol, to take the 1st set, 25-16.
Photo: Gwen Lizarraga High School boys – CSSSA Male Volleyball Sub-Champions 2024
Damion Vernon, Juavann Morgan and Raymond Gentle rallied the Gwen Liz counterattack, scoring hits on balls set by Blair Cocom and Ajare August. Augustine Pitterson helped receive and keep the ball in play, and Shane Vernon joined the fray.
SJC’s Zachary Musa, Orel Guy and Jayden Harris came off the bench to help win the 2nd set, 25-14; and Salah Mousour and Eros Dawson took the court in the 3rd set to win, 25-17.
The Edward P. Yorke boys won the consolation match for 3rd place over the Nazarene High boys in a hard-fought duel that went the full five sets at the Swift Hall on Saturday afternoon. Amare Williams, Anuar Mcfoy, Jason Montez and Erick Sanchez led the Nazarene offensive, scoring hits on balls set by Rodrigo Flores and Dhirain Mukhi, to win the 1st set, 25-15. Cevan Augustine, Moses Durantes and Kevion Carcamo came off the bench to help Nazarene also take the 2nd set, 25-23.
Lemar Moss, Jamir Clother and Jayden Frazer led the E.P. Yorke counterattack, scoring hits on plays set Rhylie Dawson and Jerrison Lopez. Axel Leiva and Emeri Estrada came off the bench to help win the 3rd and 4th sets, 25-21, 25-18, tying the ball game at 2 sets each. Libero Josiah Canto then took the court on defense to help E.P. Yorke win the 5th set, 15-11.
Photo: Best Libero – Josiah Canto (E.P. Yorke)
The SJC Wildcats qualified to the finals undefeated by eliminating the Nazarene boys, 25-10, 25-17, in last Wednesday’s semifinals; while the Gwen Liz boys reached the finals by eliminating E.P. Yorke, 24-26, 25-21, 15-13, in the semifinals last Thursday. The Wildcats had returned from their Bronze medal win at the CODICADER Games in El Salvador to enjoy their 4th win, 25-9, 25-22, over Anglican Cathedral College on Monday, October 21. They dominated the Wesley College boys, 25-11, 25-10, for their 5th win on Thursday, October 24, and hammered the E.P. Yorke boys, 25-4, 25-8, for their 6th win last Monday, October 28.
The Gwen Liz boys entered the playoffs with 4 wins and 2 losses, having to go to extra points to prevail, 28-30, 25-11, 19-17, over A.C.C. for their 3rd win on October 17. They fell to the Belize High School Rams, who enjoyed their 3rd win, 19-25, 25-23, 15-13, on October 22. Gwen Liz enjoyed their 4th win, 25-20, 23-25, 15-10, over Nazarene High last Monday.
The CSSSA executive committee presented team trophies and individual medals to the champions and sub champions in the awards ceremony after the finals, and the 3rd place winners – the E.P. Yorke boys received a certificate plaque of participation.
Photo: MVP & Best Hitter – Daniel Musa (SJC)
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS: Best Hitter – Daniel Musa (SJC); Best Libero – Josiah Canto (E.P. Yorke); Best Setter – Leonardo Riverol (SJC); MVP – Daniel Musa (SJC).
Photo: Best Setter – Leonardo Riverol (SJC)
The SJC Wildcats have won 4 consecutive national championships since 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023, as there were no tournaments during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. They will represent the Central region at the upcoming National Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) championships to be hosted by the Belize High School of Agriculture at the Orange Walk Multipurpose Complex on Friday and Saturday, November 8-9, where they will take on the Northern regional champions – Muffles College Bobcats, the Western champions – Our Lady of Mt. Carmel High School, and the Southern champions – Toledo Community College. Central meets North in Friday’s first semifinal, and South plays the West in the other semifinal on Friday afternoon. The winners advance to the finals, while the losers will play for 3rd place on Saturday morning.