The Letran Lady Knights and Perpetual Help Lady Altas notched crucial wins on Sunday at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila as Season 101 of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament entered the halfway mark of the elimination round.
Judiel Nitura Leads Letran Past Benilde
The Lady Knights extended their win streak to nine games after beating the five-peat-seeking Benilde Lady Blazers, 15-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-15, 15-10.
Benilde dictated the early tempo, taking the opening set with sharp attacking and steady net defense. Letran answered in the second frame behind its offensive rhythm, only for the Lady Blazers to regain control in the third to move a set away from victory. Refusing to fold, the Lady Knights forced a decider after a dominant fourth-set display anchored on cleaner receptions and crisper execution.
The fifth set opened with Benilde racing to a 4-1 edge, threatening to seal the win. Letran quickly regrouped as Gia Maquilang fired consecutive hits to erase the deficit. After Clydel Catarig nudged the Lady Blazers ahead, 7-6, the Lady Knights unleashed a pivotal 4-1 surge, highlighted by back-to-back attacks from Vanessa Sarie, to seize a 10-8 cushion.
From there, Letran tightened its grip. Judiel Nitura and Leonilyn Padilla combined for a crucial block to move within match point, before Sarie delivered a clutch ace to seal the comeback.
Nitura powered the charge with 22 points, including the decisive block, while Maquilang had 16 points, 18 digs, and 12 receptions. Sarie added 13 markers.
The victory gave the Lady Knights a measure of revenge after losing to the Lady Blazers in the finals of Seasons 99 and 100. They also inched closer to a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals of Group B.
Perpetual Halts San Beda
The Perpetual Help Lady Altas, led by Cyrille Almeniana, powered past the San Beda Red Lionesses, 25-19, 25-20, 15-25, 22-25, 17-15, for win number 8 and the top seed in the standings in Group A.
The Lady Altas capitalized on San Beda’s shaky start to grab the first two sets, leaning on disciplined floor defense and timely attacks to dictate the pace.
But the Red Lionesses regrouped in the third and fourth frames, riding the firepower of Janelle Bachar and Angel Habacon to force a deciding set in the grueling 2-hour, 27-minute clash.
Perpetual struck first in Set 5 after consecutive attack errors by Kat Molina handed them a 3-1 edge. San Beda briefly moved ahead, 4-3, behind a quick burst, only for the Lady Altas to answer with a 6-1 run capped by Cyrille Almeniana’s clever swipe for a 9-5 cushion. Chynna Castillo’s ace later tied it at 11-all, setting up a frantic finish.
Almeniana, shifted from opposite to outside spiker late, delivered back-to-back kills to push Perpetual to match point. An error from Habacon sealed the win.
Cyrille and Jemalyn Menor scored 18 points each as Perpetual now gets a big boost heading into the last four games of the elimination round.
Bachar led all scorers in the match with 31 points, but it wasn’t enough to carry San Beda to another win. Angel Mae Habacon and Kiera Lyn Caballero had 17 and 10, respectively.
