Lady Cards take first win at expense of Lady Stags, 3-2

Under a state of recovery, the Lady Cards set up a slow start as their attack attempts did not reach their full potential. Aiming to flip the cards, Cardinal Setter Trixie Mae Gojol made her presence known with a dump shot on the unguarded front end of the enemy territory. However, the move was not enough to secure the first set as the Lady Stags rained them on with attacks. The first set ended with a 10-point deficit for the Intramuros-based spikers, 15-25.

The fog cleared on the Mapúa volleyers in the second set as they reared on the Sampoloc-based team with a more aggressive offense. Striking through the opponent’s airtight defense, Open Spiker Therese Angeli Manalo rattled the Lady Stags with a strike and service ace that was hardly received.

As the teams exchanged points, both refused to back down and remained consistent with their rallies. However, the Lady Cards powered forward, taking the opportunity to earn their first set win of the season as their opponents lost their poise, 25-23.

The Intramuros-based athletes then stroke through the third set with Team Captain Jonina Mae Fernandez and Middle Blocker Alyanna Nicole Ong leading the spikes. As the opponents suffered from multiple service errors, the Lady Cards sought to take this set and secured a seven-point gap, 25-18.

Pressure boiled down on the Lady Cards as they fell back on their errors in the fourth set. Despite having more successful attacks than the Lady Stags, they failed to control their excitement and handed the set, extending the game for the season's first five-set match, 19-25.

Not daring to let the opponent steal a point, the fifth set remained tense as both teams played longer exchanges. Risking nothing as they minimize their errors and maximize their attacks, the Lady Cards kept their lead throughout the set.

In a stroke of genius, Gojol dropped a bomb on set point in the middle of a fierce rally when she dumped the ball on the unguarded part of the Lady Stags' court. The match ended with the Mapúa ballers receiving their first win of the season, 15-12.

The game was the Lady Cardinals' first win of the season and since January 2020 of the previous active season when they took over the Emilio Aguinaldo College Lady Generals. Following the match, the Mapúan volleyers pinned a 1-1 win-loss record while the Lady Stags suffered their first loss of the season.

Ong was hailed Best Player of the Game with 14 points and four successful blocks while Fernandez and Manalo chipped in 14 and 16 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Katherine Santos and Rayenn Canete scored 19 points each for the Lady Stags and Christine Marasigan contributed 12 points.

The Lady Cardinals will go head-to-head with the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Lady Bombers tomorrow, June 19, at 12 NN, at the same venue. The match will be aired live on GTV and on the social media pages of NCAA Philippines and GMA Sports PH.

The Scores:

MU – Manalo 16, Ong 14, Fernandez 14, Gaudan 6, Cruz 6, Babiera 2, Gojol 2, Vergino 2, Batac 1, Espiritu 0, Ortega (L) 0, Sy (L) 0, Bolandrina 0, Dalida 0

SSC-R – Santos 19, Canete 19, Marasigan 12, Tan, K. 10, Dionisio 8, Sison 1, Carreon 1, Ordona 1, Bermillo (L) 0, Tan, R. (L) 0, Requierme 0, Ultu 0, San Juan 0

Set Scores: 15-25, 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 15-12