Aug. 3, 2015 Current LMU senior Rachelle Suaava and former Lion volleyball standout Litara Keil won gold in both indoor and sand volleyball while representing American Samoa at the Port Moresby 2015 Pacific Games being hosted in Papua New Guinea this summer.
The duo began the Pacific Games on July 11 on the indoor courts, helping the American Samoa team to a 3-1 victory over Fiji in Pool A play. A 3-0 victory over Tahiti on July 12 was followed by a sweep over Wallis and Futuna the next day. Keil and Suaava helped American Samoa sweep Pool play on the 14th, registering a 3-0 victory over Tuvalu to advance to the Semi-Finals.
In the Semi-Finals, American Samoa defeated host Papua New Guinea, 3-1, to reach the final match against Tahiti. There, the team found itself in a hard-fought five-set match, but ultimately won the decisive fifth set by a count of 17-15 to claim gold.
On the beach, American Samoa also swept through Pool A play, registering victories over Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia to reach the quarterfinals. Pitted against the Solomon Islands, Keil, Suaava and their teammates posted a quick 21-7, 21-11 victory to advance to a Semi-Final match against Tahiti. Tahiti took American Samoa to three sets in a tight match, but the Samoans took the third and final set, 15-11, to reach the final match against Vanuatu. The two teams split the first two sets, but American Samoa rallied to claim gold with a 15-11 third-set victory.
For more information on the 2015 Pacific Games, please visit:
portmoresby2015.com
Suaava, who has helped LMU to a pair of NCAA Tournament runs in her first three years, will take to the LMU court to start the 2015 season on August 28 against Virginia. That home match, which is scheduled for 5 pm, will be preceded by an annual Alumnae Match on August 22 at 1 pm.
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