By: Aianna Xyril Monsod
Photos by Roni Calupitan | The LANCE
Women’s volleyball
Scoring leader Judiel Nitura tallied 21 points for Letran, aided by Vanessa Sarie’s 13 and Verenicce Colendra’s 11.
The opening was a see-saw set until the Lady Knights broke a 17-17 deadlock. Turning the tide, Colendra, Syra Silorio, and an ace from Sarie sparked a 5-0 run to 22. The crew carried the momentum to take the set, 25-19.
The Letran’s offensive rhythm faltered in the second set, but they remained neck-and-neck with EAC thanks to a string of opponent errors. Emerging from the bench, Joralyn Panangin sealed the frame for the Lady Knights, 25-23.
Another long, rally-filled set saw plenty of digging, with Dayanan powering The Lady Generals’ scoring. Trailing 19-23, Letran staged a late 3-0 surge to pull within one, but Marinel Ramos’ attack closed out the set for EAC, 25-23, extending the match to a fourth set.
The Lady Generals seized early momentum in the fourth, storming to a 9-2 lead fueled by the offense of Alex Razonable and Cara Dayanan. As Ramos and Angel Perez sustained the pressure mid-set, Letran looked to their bench for a spark. Nat Estreller provided precise distribution in her first appearance of the match, while Colendra added much-needed scoring stability.
The blue squad erased the deficit to tie at 17 and even reached match point, but EAC answered and sealed the set with a block, 27-25, forcing a decider.
Down 11-12 in the deciding set, Nitura fired off back-to-back points to take the edge. A costly positional error from the Lady Generals then gifted Letran a match point, before Nitura hammered home the final attack to seal the 15-13 victory.
Dayanan paced the Lady Generals with 19 points, while Bodonal and Razonable added 18 and 17, respectively.
Men’s volleyball
Leading the effort for Letran, Bembem Bautista put up 13 points, while Dave Lardizabal contributed 11.
The first frame was a slugfest at the net, with both squads trading blows and unforced errors. At EAC’s set point, Bautista answered with two straight points, but the former’s Michael Gela eventually quashed the rally with a clincher to claim the set.
Momentum swung to the Knights as they broke free to a 17-12 lead behind the attacks of Bautista and Lardizabal. However, Joshua Olivo sparked a response for the Generals, while back-to-back Letran errors allowed EAC to force an 18-all tie. Lardizabal denied two set points, but Ruther Abor answered at the net to lift the Generals to a 28-26 frame win.
The final set saw EAC break the game wide open. A balanced offensive attack, bolstered by a pair of dominant blocks, powered a decisive 18-9 run that put them firmly in control.
Vince Himzon finally ended the Knight’s scoring drought, but the deficit proved too steep. The Generals maintained their relentless pace to complete the 3-0 shutout.
Abor recorded 19 points to top EAC, backed by 14 points from Frelwin Taculog and 13 from Gela.
It’s a Battle of Intramuros on the horizon as Letran is set to lock horns with Lyceum of the Philippines University this coming Wednesday, March 4, at the San Andres Gym.