In a close four-set game, the Lyceum of the Philippines University Lady Pirates outlasted the Mapua Institute of Technology Lady Cardinals, 29-27, 16-25, 25-23, 26-24, in the penultimate game in the opening day of the NCAA Season 91 Women’s Volleyball Tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.
Poor reception plagued the Lady Pirates in the first set, as Hazel Sedenio strung together three straight service aces to fire Mapua to an early 5-2 lead. Errors by Lyceum compounded the problem, allowing Mapua to extend their lead to 12-5 midway. The Lady Pirates then rallied to tie the game at 13-all with excellent kills by Grenlen Malapit and three straight service aces by Jhemil Abadilla. The two squads exchanged points to extend the set to a deuce. With the set tied at 27-all, Czarina Orros hit two straight points, capped by an excellent 1-2-3 from a pin-point set by Cherilyn Sindayen.
The Lady Cardinals were able to tie the set at one-all with a 25-16 victory. The Lady Pirates never got into the set, with excellent blocking coming from Angelica Guardian and Katrina Racelis paving the way for an 18-12 lead. Mapua setter Nicole Frando joined in the act, while errors for Lyceum piled up. Moreover, Jela Pena was on point all throughout the set with excellent aces and spikes to help Mapua pull away. With the Lady Cardinals nearing set point, Hazel Sedenio banked in a cross-court kill to tie the game.
The wave of momentum was riding high for Mapua as they opened the third set with a 9-5 lead. Slowly, Lyceum were able to creep into the lead with Malapit leading the way. With Mapua still up 21-18, Czarina Orros knocked down two straight points, while a service ace by Sindayen tied the game at 21. Errors by Mapua gave Lyceum the lead 24-23, and Malapit closed out the set with a kill for a 25-23 set win.
The fourth set was close all throughout as tired legs led to poor receptions by both sides. The two squads exchanged leads until both teams tied at 19-all, after an off-speed return by Malapit. A drop by Malapit and an erroneous return by Hazel Sedenio gave Lyceum a 22-20 edge. Two errors by Lyceum again tied the game at 23-all. However, a drop by Jhemil Abadilla and an error by Mapua’s Alby Cubilla gave the set and the game to Lyceum.
Grenlen Malapit led all scorers for the game with 18 points, 17 coming from spikes. For Mapua, both Hazel Sedenio and Jela Pena both had 13 markers.
The Lyceum Lady Pirates (1-0) next face the defending champions Arellano University Lady Chiefs (1-0) on Friday, December 4 while the Mapua Lady Cardinals (0-1) look to win their first game on Thursday, December 3 against the Perpetual Lady Altas (0-1).
The Scores:
LPU (3) – Malapit 18, Orros 15, Abadilla 10, Sindayen 5, Fabay 5, Cruz 1, Paredes Al. 0, Paredes An. 0, Ibit 0, Calugcugan 0, Inton L, Geronimo L.
MIT (1) – Sedenio 13, Pena 13, Latayan 11, Guardian 8, Racelis 8, Frando 2, Aquino 1, Cubilla 0, Ramilo 0, Luzon L.
