Reeling from a tough loss, San Sebastian College-Recoletos vented its ire on Colegio de San Juan de Letran with a sweep win, 25-15, 25-22, 27-25, to march into the Final Four of the NCAA Season 97 women's volleyball tournament on Sunday.
The win allowed San Sebastian to move up to 6-3 and finish at the third spot behind CSB and Arellano.
Letran, meanwhile, wrapped up its campaign and dropped to 2-7 for a tie with Emilio Aguinaldo College at the cellar.
The Lady Stags, who were coming off a five-set loss to Lyceum last Friday, didn't waste time asserting its dominance with the dynamic duo of rookie Kath Santos and Reyann Cañete piloting their 25-15 first-set win.
San Sebastian unleashed 17 attacks in that opening frame while limiting the Lady Knights to just six.
Letran, though, put up a fight in the second with setter Edma Musngi notching three-straight points to get them behind by just two, 22-24.
But Amaka Tan soared from the middle to close out the set for San Sebastian with emphasis, 25-22.
San Sebastian led by as much as nine in the third, 20-11, but they saw that scoreline knotted at 23 with Letran's Cha Cuñada going for a cross court kill. The Lady Stags had two chances to take home the win but a service error from Kat Santos forced another tie at 25.
Spark plug Bianca Ordona then went for an off speed attack before Cañete found an opening to seal the deal for San Sebastian, 27-25.
Cañete and Santos led San Sebastian with 15 points each while middle blockers KJ Dionisio and Tan churned out nine and eight markers each. Veteran libero and team captain Jewel Bermillo manned the floor well with her 22 digs and 12 excellent receptions.
With the win, San Sebastian will be trooping to the Final Four for the first time since 2017 (Season 92), where it swept the elimination round for an outright finals ticket.
During that run, the Lady Stags also earned a thrice-to-beat advantage, which eventual champion Arellano University overcame to bag the title.
—JMB, GMA News
