Once one of the most-feared teams in the league, the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Lady Stags settled for a place outside of the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference after trouncing NCAA rivals Lyceum of the Philippines University Lady Pirates, 25-15, 24-26, 25-16, 25-23, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Lady Stags compiled a 2-3 record in Group A, leaving them out of the Final Four.
For head coach Roger Gorayeb, this was as expected, since his Lady Stags are still rebuilding. If anything, he draws optimism from winning all their assignments against NCAA teams and losing only to UAAP squads.
“Siyempre, ilang players din ang nawala sa akin. Umaasa na nga lang ako sa nga players ko diyan na nag-club team nitong nakaraan. Kaso, tentativa pa rin sila gumalaw,” said Gorayeb.
“‘Yun ang gusto ko ma-develop sa kanila – ‘yung tapang at leadership nila sa loob ng court,” he added, as the NCAA Volleyball season will likely start in the tail-end of November.
One of the Lady Stags who competed in club competition was the Power Smashers’ Joyce Sta. Rita who topped all scorers with 20 points against Lyceum. Daurene Santos and Nikka Dalisay each provided 12 markers.
Lyceum, who played without ailing head coach Emil Lontoc, had skipper Cherilyn Sindayen take charge with 13 markers. The Lady Pirates showed positive flashes, but were brought down by their 35 errors and the 11 aces they gave San Sebastian.
The Lady Pirates also dropped out of semis contention with a 1-3 record. They play the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws (3-1) on October 2 to round out their campaign.
The Scores
SSC-R (3) – Sta. Rita 20, Dalisay 12, Santos 12, Encarnacion 10, Tiangco 7, Dalisay 3, Eroa (L)
LPU (1) – Sindayen 13, Juanillo 9, Fabay 8, Hongria 8, Miralles 7, Genova 2, Rafael 1, Sevilla 0, Tizon 0, Wanta 0, Sarmiento (L)
