The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Lady Blazers earned their first win of the season after striking down the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) Lady Altas, 25-17, 14-25, 25-17, 25-20, yesterday, Jan. 10, at the FilOil Flying V Centre, San Juan.

The Lady Altas welcomed the first set with a strong defense and offense as the green squad managed to pull through the maroon and gold’s dominant hand after go-to players Mycah Go, Jade Gentapa, Gayle Pascual, and Diane Ventura widened the gap to nine points. Despite the Taft squad’s back-to-back errors, the Las Piñas team fell short as they attempted to catch up with Shyra Umandal, Jhona Rosal, and Charina Scott on deck, ending the set with an eight-point deficit, 25-17.


Photo by Fritz Reyes

In the second set, the Lady Blazers had difficulty maintaining their rhythm from their weak floor defenses, giving the Lady Altas an eight-point lead in the middle of the set with Umandal’s service aces. Combined forces of top scorer Pascual, Go, and Ventura then regained confidence for the Lady Blazers as they ended their drought. Meanwhile, fellow teammates Klarisa Abriam and Kaila Miranda made their presence felt on the court, contributing five points and eight points, respectively. Despite the Lady Blazers’ toughness on the latter half of the canto, the Lady Altas snatched the second set with an 11-point lead, 14-25.

The third set began as Pascual made a breakthrough from the continuous blocks of the Lady Altas while Lady Blazer and setter Cloanne Mondonedo welcomed herself with a surprise 1-2 play, weakening the Lady Altas’ defense. The Taft squad maintained composure throughout the set, resulting in stronger defense and faster, deeper attacks from the players led by a dominating kill from Ventura, 25-16.

Photo by Fritz Reyes

Despite the strong start of the Taft squad in the fourth canto, the Las Piñas squad was able to tie their scores and catch their rhythm. Pascual made continuous scores for the green team, ending the match with a total of 15 points while Lady Blazer team captain and setter Jewel Lai gave the team their first service ace of the set, widening their gap from the Lady Altas. The maroon and gold team had continuous errors, giving the Lady Blazers an advantage with a five-point lead by the end of the match, 25-20.

For the next match, the Lady Blazers will go up against the Mapua University (MU) Lady Cardinals on Jan. 13 at the same venue.


Photo by Fritz Reyes

Box Scores:

DLS-CSB (3): Pascual 15, Gentapa 12, Ventura 9, Go 8, Abriam 5, Gamit 5, Miranda 3, Mondoñedo 2, Lai 1, Pablo 0, Umali 0, Lim 0, Tumang 0, Daguil 0

UPHSD (1): Rosal 14, Persa 10, Tripoli 10, Gaviola 8, Umandal 5, Salimbacod 3, Aldea 1, Scott 1, Suico 1, Sangalang 0, Padua 0, Dayao 0, Cordero 0, Arcellana 0