Colegio de San Juan de Letran weathered a brave San Sebasian College-Recoletos stand to carve out a hard-fought 28-26, 12-25, 25-14, 25-22 win in the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball quarterfinals on Sunday.
The Lady Knights avoided being the third victim of an upset-filled day after top-seeded University of Perpetual Help System DALTA fell to lower-ranked foes in both the men’s and women’s divisions earlier today.
With the victory, Letran punched its ticket to its third straight Final Four appearance while also extending its winning streak to 14.
Sophomore ace Vanessa Sarie did it all, flirting with a triple-double effort of 22 points, 11 digs, and nine receptions while Judiel Nitura churned out 15 markers as they ousted the Lady Stags from contention.
San Sebastian threatened in the extended Set 1 by forcing a 26–all deadlock, but an attack error from Tina Marasigan and an ace from Sarie allowed the Lady Knights to close out the opening frame.
However, the Lady Stags caught the Lady Knights flat-footed in Set 2 with Marasigan, Kath Santos, and Juna Gonzales all conniving to take a convincing 25-12 win.
That served as a wake-up call for Letran, winning Set 3 by some distance and escaping a narrow Set 4, which saw San Sebastian tie the game at 15-all.
The Intramuros-based squad retaliated with a 4-0 rampage fueled by Nitura before the Lady Stages mounted a 5-2 run led by Santos, trimming the gap to just one, 20-21.
Letran responded with three straight points capped by another Sarie cross-court kill that clinched the match point at 24-20. San Sebastian would stage back-to-back points from Santos and Marasigan, but Sarie shattered the block of Santos in the next play to seal the deal.
Gonzales paced San Sebastian with 18 points while the graduating pair of Santos and Marasigan chimed in with 17 and 15 markers each.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
