Sports
By Whit Griswold - March 15, 2007
Tova Katzman scoops for Tisbury. Photos by Ralph Stewart
Interscholastic volleyball season starts
The Interscholastic Volleyball season opened Tuesday with games at the West Tisbury and Oak Bluffs gyms.
At O.B. the Edgartown Eagles flew in and flew out with a hard-won 3-2 victory.
In the first game players on both teams were at times tentative, hesitating to pursue balls that were not hit directly at them, but that changed quickly as the action heated up.
The first game went to overtime before O.B. claimed, 27-25.
Edgartown took the second and third games, 25-20 and 25-16.
Game four was another overtime affair won by the host Blazers, 29-27. Victory hadn't appeared likely as the Eagles jumped off to a 15-1 lead.
The fifth game, to be won by the first team to score 15 points, was claimed by Edgartown, 15-12.
Rafael Maciel serves up a winner.
Edgartown had trouble returning Luke Dunlop's overhand serves, but Luke had trouble keeping serves in play. Diana D'Oliviera and Rykerr Maynard were effective for the Eagles; Sarah Williston and Kevin Galligan for the Blazers.
Playing best two of three, the Edgartown JV squad won games one and two, 25-16 and 25-23.
Tisbury Tigers triumph
At West Tisbury the visitors from Vineyard Haven carried the day, 3-1. The Tisbury Tigers won the first two games, 25-18 and 25-22, then dropped game three, 19- 25. The fourth game was claimed by Tisbury, 25-19.
Tisbury coach Kevin Nichols commended Rafael Maciel, Toby Riseborough, Will Nevin, and Lauren McLane for their efforts.
Tomorrow it's O.B. at Westiz and Tisbury at Edgartown.
Tisbury is the reigning volleyball champion school. In fact, Tisbury has finished first in five of the last six years.
Karl Kallinich and Asil Cash contend for the ball.
RCBL week 12
The Lakers and the Heat posted wins at the Boys & Girls Club, on Monday, in final regular-season games deciding which of the league's top three teams would emerge as season champions.
In the top of the twinbill, the Lakers finished three points ahead of the Legends, 90-87, in a seesaw game.
Asil Cash scored 12 of the Legends' 28 first-quarter points, matched by Heath Estrella's 12 of the Lakers two dozen.
Caleb Nicholson found the range in the second period, dropping four treys and lifting the Lakers to a 49-46 half-time lead.
Cash and Brian Scott matched nine-point productions in the third quarter, and the Legends reclaimed the lead, 69-67.
Five minutes into the final quarter the Lakers embarked on a 12-point run that turned a 3-point deficit into a 9-point lead. With Cash leading the charge, the Legends rallied to claim an 87-85 edge, but Lakers Estrella and Karl Kallinich had the final winning hoops, 90-87.
Damon Mello eyes the rim, Travis Baptiste eyes Mello.
In double figures were Lakers Estrella 25, Kallinich 17, Nicholson 17, and Scott 12 - and Legends Cash 33, Monte Bizzarro and Julius Middleton 14.
In the nightcap, the Celtics led the Heat by as much as 8 in the first quarter, but when the period was over, the teams were tied at 24.
The Celts jumped out to a 6-point lead in the second quarter, but when the whistle blew at half-time it was the Heat on top, 51-48, primarily because of the irrepressible Damon Mello's 11 points.
With league rookie Nick Viera leading the way, the Heat raced to an 87-71 advantage at the three-quarter mark, and with five minutes left on the clock, the Heat's lead had grown to 25, 108-83. The Celts unleashed a desperation three-pointer attack and repeatedly stopped the clock with intentional fouls. The Heat calmly sank 11 of 12 freebies and won the game 116-103.
Damon Mello had the game high 40. Nick Viera added 34, and Steve Brown had 11 for the Heat. Matt Rivers led the Celtics with 28. Travis Baptiste (26), James Holenko (20), and Keith Crossland (10) made it to double figures.
Final standings after 12 weeks 1. Lakers 8-4, 2. Heat 7-5, and Celtics 7-5. 4. Legends 2-10.
Season-ending playoffs begin Monday with the same menu as last week: Lakers vs. Legends and Heat vs. Celtics
