Raymond Graham, Gleaner Writer

MANY-time champions Wolmer's Girls and St Jago Boys continued their dominance in high-school volleyball, as they defeated their opponents in close matches on Tuesday in the all-island finals at The Mico University College.

Both matches went to the maximum five sets with both teams winning 3-2.

In the female final, Wolmer's Girls' stopped Alpha 25-18, 25-19, 26-28, 20-25, 18-16, while in the male equivalent, St Jago won 25-16, 9-25, 25-21, 20-25,15-10 over Oracabessa.

Among the girls, it was a rematch of the Corporate Area final, and the defending champions, who have dominated the competition for the past 16 years, looked on target for an easy victory as they took the first two sets quite easily.

However, in the third, the Alpha team led from start to finish for a close two-point victory. This gave them a confidence booster, as in the fourth set, they continued their fightback and won, forcing the game to a crucial fifth set.

THRILLING MATCH

Both teams treated the cheering fans to a thriller as, despite taking a quick 8-1 lead, the Wolmer's team had to stave off another late surge from their opponents.

Led by the experienced Rick Webb, St Jago did not have things their own way as they had to dig hard to stave off a determined Oracabessa team, which did not have any reserves, playing with the entire six players for all five sets.

In the end, however, it was the experience of Webb that made the difference, as he marshalled his team throughout to set up the win and secure their sixth All-Island title in a row.

Winning coach, Byron Martin, the man behind all these wins, was once again happy for the title.

Earlier, there were play-off matches for third positions. In the female play-off, St Jago High defeated Muschette 25-20, 16-25, 15-10, while in the male section, it was Camperdown who prevailed over Muschette 25-15, 25-22.