Despite losing to Set 1 against the Mapua University, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde showed their dominance against them in the 1st game of the NCAA 100 Final Four last June 1 2025.
The Closeout in Set 4
The Lady Cardinals already took Set 1 but knowing they have a twice to beat disadvantage made Set 4 a lot harder for them.
In the fourth set, the CSB Lady Blazers held a 13-7 advantage before the Mapua Lady Cardinals closed the gap to 16-13. Zam Nolasco added a point for Benilde, but Mapua responded with a block to cut the lead to 17-14. A service error by Gregg Cabadin gave Benilde an easy point, followed by an attack miscue from Mapua that stretched the lead of women in green and white a lead of 5 points.
Mapua managed to score again, but Nolasco sparked a run that pushed Benilde ahead, 23-17. Freighanne Garcia answered with a point for the Lady Cardinals, but Cristy Ondangan and Nolasco delivered the final blows to clinch the win for the Lady Blazers.
Final Score: 25-20, 25-15, 25-17, 25-18
In a report of GMA Integrated News in their website, here’s what Head Coach Onyok Getigan of CSB has to say with their win “Nung first set naging mabagal kami, ang daming bumabagsak na bola. Nagalit si coach so nag-respond ang mga bata nang mabilis and nagkapalitan ng tao. Pagdating ng second set, nakuha na namin”.
Chenae Basarte was able to share the ball to her team as she had 16 out of 19 excellent sets along with 5 scorers who were able to score double digits. Aya Densing had 13 points, Shahanna Lleses scored 11 points as well as Mycah Go recorded 10 points.
The best player of the game was given to Zam Nolasco as she tallied 19 points which came from 18 attacks.
Meanwhile for the side of Mapua, it was both Freighanne Garcia who scored 14 points and Raissa Ricablanca added 13 points who did the best that they could to try and keep in step with the number 1 seeded team.
A Chance for Gold and for Bronze
The CSB Lady Blazers are a step closer to achieving their goal of winning 4 straight NCAA titles in a row while the Mapua Lady Cardinals still have a chance to win the bronze medal.
CSB will wait for the winner of the clash of #2 Colegio de San Juan de Letrán and #3 Arellano University on Tuesday, June 3. While the Cardinals will wait for the loser.
The NCAA 100 Volleyball Finals begins on June 8, Sunday.
