By: Jerod Orcullo, Marvin Isidro Jr.
The Letran Lady Knights and Knights take home their first victories in its first games at the NCAA Season 99 Mens and Womens Volleyball Tournaments. Photo courtesy of Eduardo Nollora Jr. & Ram Christian Campos of The LANCE.
Women's Division
The Letran Lady Knights opened their season in dominating fashion against the Arellano University Lady Chiefs, 16-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17, at the San Andres Sports Complex earlier, April 10.
Arellano went on run after run early in the game with a mixture of timely attacks and costly errors by Letran with the momentum of the game staying in favor of the blue shirts securing the set advantage, 16-25.
However, the Coach Oliver Almirado-led group picked up the pace in subsequent sets led by a masterful display of offensive and defensive execution by the Knights completing the reverse sweep with a consistent score of 25-17.
Natalie Estreller was the maestra of Letran’s offense with 20 excellent sets that unlocked the full potential of Letran's weapons with four players surpassing double-digit figures in points.
Gia Maquilang put up a game-high 17 markers on 14 attacks and three service aces, followed by Nizelle Martin who had 16 points of her own on 13 spikes, while Judiel Nitura and Angelique Ledesma had 15 and 11, respectively.
Men's Division
The Letran Knights smashed through the Arellano Chiefs, 24-26, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19, to begin their run in the NCAA Season 99 Men's Volleyball tournament.
Both squads saw a nip and tuck affair through the first set as Steven Sta. Maria and Vince Himzon registered valiant offensive outputs, yet proved to be scarce as the Chiefs ultimately came out on top, 24-26.
The Intramuros-based squad came out aggressively in the following set, eager to demonstrate their superiority as their attacks began to pour down on Arellano’s defense, 25-17.
Arellano tried to extinguish Letran’s fiery offense with some of their own, but to no avail. Their errors began to bite back, surrendering the set, 25-20.
Sta. Maria and Himzon continued to feast on the offensive end as the Chiefs were held helpless and had no counter for this onslaught with a service error ending their misery, 25-19.
Himzon soared, finishing with a game-high 21 points off of 17 attacks and four blocks, while Sta. Maria and Paolo Lorenzo had 15 and 14 of their own.
Letran's volleyball teams will look to continue their winning ways in their following matchup against the University of Perpetual Help System - Dalta on April 13 at the Filoil EcoOil Sports Centre in San Juan.