MANGILAO, Guam – One day after rolling her ankle in the semifinals, Avianca Manning returned to Seoul American’s lineup and gave the Falcons the boost they needed to end the Far East High School Girls Class AA Volleyball Tournament on a good note.

The senior middle blocker had 10 spike kills in 16 attempts plus five block points Saturday as the Falcons closed the six-day tournament by taking third place, sweeping Academy of Our Lady of Guam 25-22, 25-19.

“The kids stepped up and played really well,” coach Denny Hilgar said after his team’s highest finish in this event since winning the silver medal in the 1999 tournament, also on Guam.

Manning injured her right ankle during the Falcons’ 25-17, 25-17, 26-24 loss to eventual champion Christian Academy In Japan during Friday’s semifinal.

On Saturday, “we taped up the ankle really good and put her through some drills,” Hilgar said. “She played really well and we were also back at full strength.”

The Falcons started slowly in the first set before pulling away at the 17-point mark. The Cougars staged a mild rally after falling behind 9-1 in the second set but never had the Falcons in peril.

“We went out swinging like we wanted to,” Hilgar said. “As I told the kids, third is better than 16 other teams in the tournament.”

Meanwhile, CAJ won the title for the second time in three years and the third time overall dating back to 2001.

Led by senior middle blocker Kelsey Masuda’s 17 spike kills, the Knights swept George Washington of Guam 25-20, 25-13, 25-23 in Saturday’s championship match. Masuda was selected the tournament’s most valuable player.

George Washington lost in the finals for the second straight year and the fifth time overall since last winning the tournament in 1984.

Class AA girls volleyballSingle-elimination playoffs

Thursday’s matchesMatch 1-St. John’s, Guam, def. Zama American, Japan, 22-25, 25-12, 15-9Match 2-Kubasaki, Okinawa, def. Hong Kong International 25-10, 25-20Match 3-Yokota, Japan, def. Edgren, Japan, 25-13, 25-23Match 4-Kinnick, Japan, def. John F. Kennedy, Guam, 25-21, 12-25, 17-15Match 5-Seoul American def. Guam High 25-14, 25-17Match 6-Notre Dame, Guam, def. Simon Sanchez, Guam, 25-19, 25-13Match 7-George Washington, Guam, def. Kadena, Okinawa, 25-15, 25-15Match 8-Southern, Guam, def. Seisen International, Tokyo, 24-25, 25-12, 15-12Match 9-Christian Academy In Japan def. St. John’s 25-14, 25-11Match 10-American School In Japan def. Kubasaki 25-23, 25-11Match 11-Academy of Our Lady of Guam def. Yokota 25-22, 25-17Match 12-Seoul American def. Notre Dame 16-25, 25-16, 16-14Match 13-CAJ def. Kinnick 25-10, 25-19Match 14-George Washington def. ASIJ 16-25, 25-20, 15-8Match 15-Academy of Our Lady of Guam def. Southern 23-25, 25-23, 15-13

Friday’s matchesMatch 16-Zama def. Kubasaki 25-13, 13-25, 15-11Match 17-St. John’s def. Edgren 25-8, 25-17Match 18-Yokota def. Hong Kong International 25-21, 25-20Match 19-Seisen def. Zama 25-20, 25-11Match 20-St. John’s def. Simon Sanchez 25-20, 24-26, 15-11Match 21-John F. Kennedy def. Kadena 25-16, 25-14Match 22-Yokota def. Guam High 25-19, 25-13Match 23-Notre Dame def. Seisen 25-17, 18-25, 15-7Match 24-ASIJ def. John F. Kennedy 16-25, 25-13, 15-6Match 25-St. John’s def. Kinnick 18-25, 25-22, 15-12Match 26-Southern def. Yokota 25-17, 24-26, 15-9Match 27-Notre Dame def. St. John’s 25-16, 25-16, 3:30 p.m.Match 28-ASIJ def. Southern 25-12, 25-17Match 29-CAJ def. Seoul American 25-17, 25-17, 26-24Match 30-George Washington def. Academy of Our Lady of Guam 18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 19-25, 15-11

Saturday’s matchesMatch 31-St. John’s def. Southern 25-16, 25-21, seventh placeMatch 32-ASIJ def. Notre Dame 25-23, 25-15, fifth placeMatch 33-Seoul American def. Academy of Our Lady of Guam 25-22, 25-19, third placeMatch 34-CAJ def. George Washington 25-20, 25-13, 25-23, championship

AwardsMVP-Kelsey Masuda, CAJTeam Sportsmanship Award-CAJAll-Tournament team-Kelsey Masuda, Stephanie Hino, CAJ; Marianna Quintana, Evelyn Padayao, George Washington; Avianca Manning, Seoul American; Gemma Datuin, Academy of Our Lady of Guam; Gwen Thornton, ASIJ; Mary Gillan, Notre Dame; Yumika Sugahara, St. John’s; Emorie Martinez, Southern; Helen Schrock, Kadena; Lisa Sizemore, Seisen; Adrianne Blaz, Simon Sanchez; Mary Niemeyer, Kinnick; Kendra Byrd, Guam.

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