Photo by Jehoshieba Santiago and Anne Nicole Rebagay | The LANCE
Women’s Volleyball
The Letran Lady Knights improved to 7-0, being the only team left with no losses in the women’s division after sweeping the San Sebastian Lady Stags 3-0 yesterday at the NCAA Season 101 Women’s Volleyball tournament.
Judiel Nitura spearheaded Letran’s offense, recording 19 points with 16 attacks and a block.
An early 3-0 run sparked the offense for the Lady Knights as Nat Estreller and Lastlie Isar opened the scoring for Letran. The Lady Knights managed to secure a six-point lead early, but the Lady Stags pushed the pace to force a set extension. Letran fell behind late in the set but was able to bounce back 26-24, thanks to Nitura’s heroics and a handful of errors on the side of San Sebastian.
The second set was no different from the first; the match was close in the opening minutes of the set. But the duo of Nitura and Gia Maquilang kept terrorizing the defense of the Lady Stags, a combination of crosscourt attacks and powerful spikes proved to be too much for San Sebastian as the Lady Knights closed out the second set at 25-22.
The offensive barrage continued into the third and final set, and the Lady Knights continued to pressure the defense of San Sebastian, while the Lady Stags suffered from multiple errors, which buried them even deeper. Tina Marasigan of the Lady Stags tried to keep the match alive but was unsuccessful as the Lady Knights bagged the set 25-17, securing their 7th win of the tournament.
Men’s Volleyball
The Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights tallied another win after sweeping the San Sebastian Golden Stags in three straight sets yesterday at the NCAA Season 101 Men’s Volleyball Tournament.
Dave Lardizabal manned the offense for Letran, ending the match with 17 points and 13 spikes. Bembem Bautista was not far behind as he recorded 14 points along with 12 spikes and two blocks, while Vince Himzon ended the game with 13 markers.
The Knights managed to secure a small advantage for the majority of the first set as the scoring poured for both teams early on. The story changed late in the frame, and the Knights began to inch away from the Golden Stags as errors continued to pile up. Letran took set one 25-17, after a net touch error on the side of San Sebastian.
The points came left and right for the Knights in the second frame as the whole team ran on all cylinders; efficiency on both offense and defense provided them the lead for most of the set. San Sebastian managed to shorten the gap, but the Knights immediately fired back, securing the set at 25-21.
More of the same was seen in the third and final set; the hard spikes of Himzon were a consistent problem for the Golden Stags, while Bautista’s blocks prevented San Sebastian from scoring. Letran trailed late in the set but was successful in reclaiming the lead, a high-flying spike, courtesy of Himzon, sealed the deal for Letran 25-21.
Kyle Villamor led the scoring for the Golden Stags, ending the game with 13 points. Eilemar Dulete tallied seven, while Aaron Binondo scored six for San Sebastian.
The next game for Letran would be against Mapua University on February 20 at the San Andres Sports Complex, Manila.