By: Marvin Isidro Jr.
The Letran Lady Knights holding hands victoriously after taking down the San Beda Spikers, a redeeming win after losing out during the Men's Division. Photo courtesy of Marvin Isidro Jr. of The LANCE.
It is of no surprise to the people that the long rivalry between Letran and San Beda has gone on for decades and on Sunday, we got another glimpse of what that looked like at the NCAA Season 98 Volleyball Tournament held at the San Andres Sports Complex.
Daisy Melendres and the Letran Lady Knights open up their tournament with a win against the San Beda Lady Red Spikers with a sweep, 25-20, 25-23, 28-26, and start their season with a 1-0 record.
Down 1-12 in the final set after losing the first two, San Beda made a run and even extended the game, but Letran got the win off of rookie Judiel Nitura’s closing points to end the match.
Daisy Melendres was hailed as the best player with 15 points, eight attacks, five blocks, and two aces.
Despite the win, Lara Mae Silva knows that there is still work to be done for the Lady Knights. “Super happy po kasi po first win sa first game then alam naman po natin na raivals po natin yung (San) Beda, madami pa po kaming dapat i adjust sa mga natitirang games namin.”
In the men’s division, Letran failed to score a win against the Red Spikers, losing in four sets, 26-28, 25-19, 22-25, 23-25.
As the teams battle it out on the field, players such as Vince Virrey Himzon and Michael Christian Doria put out their top performance on the field by having the most blocks, serves, and highest points in the team.
Standing at 21 points for Himzon and 14 for Doria, it was definitely a close match in each set however, Letran still fell short of closing in on their rivals.
Both teams will be facing their counterparts from Mapua University on Feb 24 at the San Andres Sports Complex