By: Kim Yoshi Espiritu
Colegio de San Juan de Letran volleyball team battled against the Arellano Chiefs last May 16 at the EAC Gym. Photo Courtesy: Ram Christian Campos.
Women's Division
Vanessa Sarie had an epic outing after demolishing the NCAA’s scoring record and carrying the Lady Knights past the Arellano Lady Chiefs in a dramatic five-set finish, 3-2, 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 17-15, during the second round of the NCAA Season 100 Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Friday, May 16 at the EAC Gym.
The super rookie, Sarie, was hungry to win by any means necessary as she stomped on their persistent opponents with a massive 37-point outburst built on 35 attacks, one block, and a service ace.
Emotions pumped high in the final set as all players poured their hearts out to catch every loose ball. But the Lady Knight came out on top with Super rookie Sarie sealing the game with two consecutive attacks for her career night.
Lara Mae Silva showed her beach volleyball instincts as she threaded the needle of the back zone with a dig pass to end a mini rally composed of frontline attacks. Judiel Nitura followed suit, leading a six-to-nothing Letran offense coming from her back row kill spike and a service ace.
The Intramuros based-squad took full offensive control after raising the volume of their strikes from that left end of the court. They connected on 18 attacks compared to Arellano’s 10 to seal the first frame, 25-22.
Natalie Estreller then surprised her opponents with a decoy set which she immediately striked through the defender’s frontline defense.
Simple and steady was Marjorie Napal’s mantra starting the second set, showcasing her incredible reads that resulted in an array of drop balls. Meanwhile, Gia Maquilang and Vanessa Sarie pounced on the down-the-line coverage of the Legarda crew to take a six-point set cushion in favor of the Lady Knights, 25-19.
Letran‘s starting five underwent a mid-game meditation ritual as they prepared to conquer the following set. It was the Lady Chiefs, however, that triggered instant defense causing a 0-7 slump for the Lady Knights in the third set. Both fought fiercely and exchanged strikes until they ended up in a tight situation where Arellano paced for a hard-fought third-set match point.
Heated arguments from Coach Oliver Almadro were not tolerated by the officials that quickly cost him a red card, requiring him to exit a crucial fourth set which collapsed for Letran, 23-25. Fortunately, he returned during the fifth set to give the Lady Knights the final boost for victory.
Arellano’s Marianne Padillion had 18 points in their loss, while Sam Tiratira and Laika Tudlasan each contributed 16 and 14 as the Lady Chiefs tilted away from the final four picture with a 9-6 record.
Men's Division
The Letran Knights absorbed another Arellano Chiefs‘ drubbing, 3-1, 25-22, 20-25, 18-25, 17-25, during the second round of the NCAA Season 100 Men’s Volleyball Tournament on Friday, May 16 at the EAC Gym.
Bembem Bautista and Vince Himzon tried to inject life in Letran’s offense by scoring 16 and 14, respectively. Dave Lardizabal also made key efforts in the loss that translated to 11 markers.
Letran grabbed the first set after key plays from their key players led by the sharp playmaking of team captain John Wayne Araño. However, they yielded to the opponents in the next two sets.
Despite the constant offensive push from the Chiefs, the Knights were desperate to get close having key offensive plays from Andrew Abeto and Lardizabal that put them at a two-point disadvantage, 15-13.
After receiving damage from Carl Berdal and Jake Pangilinan, Letran slipped away from chasing the win with Moi Sumagaysay losing the match point with a service fault.
Arellano made huge strides all throughout the match, spearheaded by AC Guinto’s balanced offense and defense, churning out 20 points on 17 attacks while receiving 20 excellent digs. He was backstopped by Carl Berdal who churned 19 points in the win.
Letran will have a second round match up against the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde on Wednesday, May 21, at FilOil EcoOil Centre.