College of St. Benilde extended its winning streak to 25 games after routing Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 25-19, 25-18, 25-22, of the NCAA Season 98 Women’s Senior Volleyball Tournament.
The Lady Blazers also notched the first Final Four slot with their seventh win in a row.
The third set was a tight game, with the score tied at 21-all after an outside ball error from Cha Cuñada’s service. Jade Gentapa answered back with an off-the-block kill to take a 22-21 lead.
Then, the Lady Knights’ miscommunication allowed the Lady Blazers to get set points. However, Lea Tapang fought back with an off-the-block kill to bring the score to 22-24, but that was the closest they could get.
Gentapa then outplayed Letran’s rally with a drop-kill to secure the win.
Head coach Jerry Yee emphasized that they still need the last two games to continue the improvement of the team.
“Perspective lang, meaning, yes, five-setters, but it gives us more playing time, more time to watch the girls play, more stats, pero hindi eh,” he said after the match that ended in an hour and 23 minutes.
“Dun natin makikita ‘yung mga kulang natin, so basa kami ng games, basa kami ng sarili tapos make tayo ng adjustments,” he added.
Gayle Pascual scored 17 points on 15 attacks and one service ace, while Gentapa notched 15 points on 13 attacks and two blocks, including seven excellent receptions.
Fiona Getigan chipped in 10 excellent digs, and Cloanne Mondonedo contributed 17 excellent sets with two blocks.
Meanwhile, Judiel Nitura led Letran with 11 points on six attacks and five service aces, while Tapang also scored 11 points on 11 attacks, along with six excellent digs.
Lara Mae Silva added 14 excellent digs and 18 excellent receptions, while Natalie Estreller contributed 12 excellent sets.
Earlier, Mary Rhose Dapol led the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA to a tight three-set victory over San Beda University, with scores of 25-12, 25-20, and 25-23.
Dapol contributed 20 points to the win, including 14 attacks, six aces, and 10 excellent digs. Despite facing some challenges in the last two sets, the Lady Altas managed to hold off a resurgent San Beda in the final minutes of the third set.
In the third set, the Lady Red Spikers mounted a comeback, scoring a 7-2 run that was capped off by Trisha Paras’ service ace, bringing the deficit down to just one point at 20-21. Francesca Salansang then tied the game with a down-the-line kill. However, Dapol’s crosscourt kill put Perpetual ahead at 24-23, and Marianne Tayag’s attack error secured the victory for the team.
Although Perpetual experienced some setbacks in the second and third sets, head coach Sandy Rieta explained that the team had relaxed too much, prompting him to give them a wake-up call to refocus.
“During the game, they relaxed a bit too much, so I had to get a little upset when the opponent caught up. We relaxed too much, and our service and reception errors led to that result,” he said.
Shaila Omipon and Winnie Bedana also contributed 11 points each, with Omipon making nine attacks and three excellent receptions. Marian Andal had 19 excellent digs and 13 excellent receptions, while Jasmine Sapin made 16 excellent sets.
On the other side, no player managed to score in double digits, with Kat Molina being the highest scorer at nine points on nine attacks and five excellent digs.
Letran is in third place with a record of 4-2. Perpetual now sits at second place with a 5-1 record, while San Beda has a 1-5 slate
