Volleyball Pregames Take Over Narnia; 4 Isles Rise in Ranks

By Maan Deuda

Volleyball fever gripped Narnia’s Seven Isles as pregames for both men’s and women’s divisions kicked off on Saturday, January 18, at the Institute’s Twin Court. 

The Isles of Chronos and Neoleides climbed the ranks in the men’s category with back-to-back victories, while the Isles of Psyche and Koinos swept their first-round matches with 2-0 wins in the women’s division.

The morning began with the women’s division, where the Psychology Society’s (PsychSoc) Isle of Psyche dominated the MSU-IIT Historical Society’s (MIHS) Isle of Chronos with a decisive victory, garnering 25-13 in the first set and 25-17 in the second.  

The MSU-IIT Sociology Society’s (MISS) Isle of Koinos also triumphed over the Literature, Language, and Culture Society’s (LILACS) Isle of Glossa, securing a win with scores of 25-20 and 25-17.

In the match between Kabataang Pilipinong Aakay sa Bayan’s (KAPILAS-Bayan) Isle of Neoleides and the Junior Philosophers’ Guild’s (JPG) Isle of Sophia, the former was declared the winner by default. JPG’s women’s team arrived more than 15 minutes past the allotted grace period, resulting in their forfeiture and KAPILAS-Bayan earning the win.

The men’s rounds were held in the afternoon, starting with a clash between PsychSoc’s Psyche and MIHS’ Chronos. It was a closely contested match halfway through the sets. The first set was tied at 12-12, and the second set saw a narrow 11-14 scoreline. However, Chronos triumphed over Psyche, edging them out with scores of 25-21 and 25-12.

MISS’ Koinos and LILACS’ Glossa followed the clash queue. In the first set, Koinos took the lead with a 25-12 score gap. The second set saw Glossa attempt to even the score, initially tying it at 4-4, but ultimately fell short as Koinos secured a 25-13 score, making them the Game 2 winner.

JPG’s Sophia and KAPILAS-Bayan’s Neoleides also faced off in an intense match during Game 3. Neoleides led the first set with a 15-7 gap, eventually triumphing over Sophia with a 25-11 victory. In a surprising turn, Sophia rallied in the second set, leading the round with a 15-12 and closing it out with a close 25-23 win. A third set was played where Neoleides reigned supreme winning, 15-5. 

Fighting in the winner’s bracket, Chronos who won over Psyche, matched with the Political Science Society’s (PSS) Isle of Logos. During the first set, Logos took an early lead with a 10-5 score. As the game progressed, the match intensified, with the score tied at 11-11. Eventually, Chronos edged out Logos with a score of 25-20. In the second set, Chronos completed the sweep, securing a 25-16 victory to win the match, 2-0.

Both coming off wins in their previous matches, Game 2 of the winner’s bracket and the last match of the day saw KAPILAS-Bayan’s Neoleides clash with MISS’ Koinos. Neoleides took the lead in the first set with a 5-2 score, eventually concluding the round with a 17-13 score. In their second set, Koinos responded with an intense rally, fighting through ties at 3-3 and 11-11, before dominating with a 25-15 victory. 

The match went to a third set, where Neoleides narrowly triumphed over Koinos in a tense final round, securing a 15-14 victory after a thrilling back-and-forth that kept both teams and spectators on edge until the very last point.

Narnia’s Seven Isles are set to continue clashing for the crown in this double-elimination volleyball competition next week from January 20 to 26.