<b>YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea</B> Aca,!" The Seoul American High School Falcons took down CJ3 2-0 (25-22, 25-18) to win the menAca,!a,,cs championship in the U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan MenAca,!a,,cs Intramural Volleyball Tournament at Collier Field House May 4.
The match-up gave CJ3 a second chance to take the championship from the Falcons, which defeated CJ3 in the semi-finals, but it wasnAca,!a,,ct to be.
With Jaymes Cloninger making six kills and three blocks, CJ3 had a strong offensive system with all players hitting hard. Cloninger did admit, though, that CJ3's strategy didn't work well until too late.
Aca,!A"We didnAca,!a,,ct play defense very well and couldnAca,!a,,ct cover the court,Aca,!A? Cloninger said. Aca,!A"So, when the Falcons dropped the ball, we let it hit the ground. We took our time to rearrange our line-up. It worked, but we were too close to the end of the game.Aca,!A?
CJ3Aca,!a,,cs coach said missing some key players to injuries didnAca,!a,,ct help. Aca,!A"Our team was unprepared," Simon Kim said. "We had major players hurt or absent. We werenAca,!a,,ct really here on position."
In a rare twist, the Falcons coach, Ilmar Tarikas, actually played for CJ3. Aca,!A"Normally, I am with my players,Aca,!A? Tarikas said. Aca,!A"For today, however, I could not coach my team because I also belonged to CJ3.Aca,!A?
Led by Clayton BakerAca,!a,,cs 15 kills and four blocks, the Falcons didnAca,!a,,ct need much direction. Baker is a student at Seoul Foreign School, and having players from two different schools was no disadvantage for the Falcons.
Aca,!A"We had players from Seoul American High School and Seoul Foreign School,Aca,!A? said Eric Tarikas, an SAHS freshman. Aca,!A"Even without our coach, everybody hustled very well. We just played simple.Aca,!A?
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