By: Aianna Xyril Monsod
Photo courtesy of Julia Iris Eguillano | The LANCE
The Letran Lady Knights swept the Lady Red Spikers to close out the classification round undefeated. It was the opposite story for the Knights, who suffered a straight-sets sweep at the hands of the Red Spikers on March 8 at the San Andres Sports Complex during the NCAA Season 101 Volleyball Tournament.
The Lady Knights made quick work of the Lady Red Spikers, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 to head into the playoffs with a spotless 13-0 record.
Judiel Nitura fired 18 points, highlighted by four aces and a block, while Vanessa Sarie added nine points along with nine receptions and eight digs in the sweep.
The Lady Knights capitalized on a shaky start from the Lady Red Spikers, who surrendered nearly half of Letran’s points through a flurry of unforced errors in the opening frame. With San Beda unable to clean up their execution, Letran secured the first set, 25-18.
Leonilyn Padilla opened the second frame with three consecutive points, giving the Lady Knights an immediate spark against their rivals. Although San Beda showed more composure this time, limiting the errors that had plagued their first set, Letran’s aggressive front-row presence stayed relentless.
Setter Nat Estreller directed the attack with 21 sets, feeding Yen Martin, Padilla, and Sarie. Despite the efforts of the Red-and-White’s Angel Habacon, the Lady Knights’ floor defense held firm, anchored by libero Lara Silva’s game-high 23 digs to secure the two-set advantage.
The Muralla squad stormed out of the gates in the final frame with a 5-1 run. Opposite hitter Nitura led the charge with a series of powerful attacks that kept the Mendiola-based defense scrambling. With a 23-16 lead, Letran briefly wavered as the Lady Red Spikers rattled off a 4-0 spurt, cutting the deficit to 20-23.
Regaining their composure, Nitura answered to reach match point, and Sarie delivered the finishing touch as the Lady Knights capped the group stage without a loss.
Habacon carried the load for San Beda, tallying 17 points to go along with a defensive shift of six digs.
The Letran Knights concluded their preliminary round campaign on a somber note, falling to the San Beda Red Spikers in a 16-25, 23-25, 17-25 sweep to finish with a 6-7 win-loss record and forcing them into a must-win play-in scenario for the final quarterfinals berth.
Dave Lardizabal paced Letran with 12 points, supported by Bembem Bautista who finished with seven.
The Red Spikers dictated the tempo from the jump, utilizing a 9-3 blitz to keep the Knights at bay before comfortably closing out the frame 25-16.
The second set turned into a tense, back-and-forth battle as a more composed Letran squad finally found their rhythm through Maximuz Lopez. However, they couldn’t shake off a multi-pronged San Beda attack led by Anrie Bakil, Ralph Cabalsa, and Axel Book.
The Knights managed to carve out a 16-13 cushion, only for the Red Spikers to mount a relentless 4-0 run, fueled by consecutive points from Book, seizing a 17-16 advantage. Despite Lardizabal's equalizer at 23, the Knights fell just short as San Beda surged ahead for the final two points to take a 2-0 match advantage.
The Red Spikers asserted their dominance early in the third, shutting down any Letran rally. Behind a three-point explosion from Ryan Rosman, San Beda turned a slim 2-1 lead into a 5-2 cushion, eventually doubling the Knights’ output with a massive 12-6 advantage.
While Lardizabal provided an offensive pulse for the Intramuros-based crew, their leaky floor defense proved to be their undoing as a final block touch gifted their rivals a 25-17 victory to seal the straight-sets result.
The Red Spikers leaned on four double-digit scorers, with Rosman scoring 18, Book 16, Cabasa 14, and Bakil 11.
Letran will battle Lyceum of the Philippines University in the play-in round to claim the final spot in the quarterfinals.