By: Marvin Isidro Jr., Jerod Orcullo
The Letran Lady Knights continue with their win streak whilst the Knights search for another victory. Photo courtesy of Yvonne Altaire Solon & Eduardo Nollora Jr. of The LANCE.
Women's Division
The Letran Lady Knights marched past the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Lady Generals, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, in the NCAA Season 99 Women’s Volleyball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan yesterday.
Nizelle Martin showcased her offensive and defensive prowess in the win, tallying a team-high 16 points on 15 attacks with 10 excellent digs. Lara Mae Silva anchored Letran’s floor defense with 18 digs, while Natalie Estreller opened up their scoring with 16 excellent sets.
Coach Oliver Almadro’s group maintained a five-point cushion through the majority of the opening set. After a few possessions and some timely saves, the Lady Generals were rearing for a comeback until Gia Maquilang sealed the deal through a variety of ways, 25-22.
While both teams struggled to gain a significant advantage through the second frame, Martin delivered the intensity for the Lady Knights with swift and assertive plays that pressured the red shirts to make mistakes, costing them the win, 25-21.
EAC took the advantage from Letran in the latter stages of the decider as a result of Cath Almazan’s heroics. Judiel Nitura failed to put a stop to the bleeding with back-to-back attack errors setting the stage for Almazan to deliver the kill shot, 23-25.
Nitura bounced back with the rest of her team as they cleaned up their act and cruised to their third win of the season, 25-15, sharing the top of the standings with College of Saint Benilde and Lyceum of the Philippines.
Almazan posted a game-high 22 markers in her squad’s losing effort.
Men’s Division
The Letran Knights continued to stumble in the NCAA Season 99 Men’s Volleyball tournament against Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Generals, 22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 22-25.
Vince Himzon had a solid performance despite the loss with 19 points with 16 spikes and 3 blocks, followed by Bembem Bautista with 13 markers and Raxel Redd Catris’ 11 digs.
The Generals forced the Knights to play defensively in the contest with commanding attacks. The Knights failed to establish any type of run to take the lead along with a few service errors, allowing EAC to win the set, 22-25.
Letran came out with their signature swagger trying to even the game at one set apiece but they continued to play into the hands of Coach Rodrigo Palmero, coming up short, 19-25.
Himzon and his squad were able to extend the game, pouncing on the errors of the Generals, yet it ceased to amount to anything substantial as they succumbed to their adversary in the fourth frame. Bautista tried to keep them alive with a last-ditch effort but to no avail, 22-25.
Ervin Osabel delivered the goods for the Generals with a game-high 25 points on 23 attacks and two blocks, while Marvin Romero churned in 16 of his own.
The Lady Knights look to stay hot while the Knights continue their search for win number two in their matches against Jose Rizal University on Friday, April 19.