SAN SEBASTIAN LADY STAGS DEFUSE LADY BOMBERS IN EXTENDED SET

JRU Lady Bombers came to face the San Sebastian Lady Stags once more in the NCAA Season 101 Women's Volleyball. The Lady Bombers came to the San Andres Complex in Malate, Manila with one goal in mind: Redemption. 

The Lady Bombers started the first set with a bang getting the first point off a block by Czarina Ramos. The highlight player of the first set is Leizel Carabot, one of the Lady Bombers’ scoring liberos. When she digs, she digs deep. Her instinct and reflex kept the ball up so that whenever the Lady Stags bites, the Lady Bombers bit back. Another consistent player and scorer is Nicole Deala, that despite the slight height difference, her jumping ability stabilizes and levels her with her teammates and opponents that when she attacks, she doesn’t have a smidge of doubt in her and that iron will of hers helped close the first set with 27-25, with San Sebastian taking that set.

Right on the second set, the Lady Bombers were right on the Lady Stags’ tails, they established a good flow and tempo with Kyla Navarra’s 11 excellent sets so far that helped Power Hitters like Czarina Ramos and Nicole Deala deliver hit after hit, one after the other. In the recent games of San Sebastian College- Recoletos Lady Stags, they are known for their offenses. Whenever the  Lady Bombers’ spikes, the Lady Stags follow with a dig, their setter swoops in to keep the ball up for their outside hitters to score. The Lady Stags attempt to replicate what they did during their first game with the Lady Bombers; a four set sweep.

It didn’t seem to work as the Lady Bombers took the second set by the neck by 25-20, the Lady Stags were rattled by the outcome. The Lady Bombers hit them back to back with explosive hits, taking a dozen steps ahead of the Lady Stags which forced an extended fifth set between the two teams. Fortunately for the Lady Stags, the game ended 3-2 of 27-25, 20-25, 26-24, 17-25 and 15-7.

Their last game against each other, the Lady Bombers’ weren’t consistent enough with their scoring and even with their tight defense, it is not enough against stronger and quicker hits such as the Lady Stags’. But it’s their composure and court maturity that shines with fellow NCAA fans, as said by Head Coach Mia Tionesco in a personal interview.

“Nanghihinayang lang ako kasi we could have won the game, there were so many opportunities to have closed the game but then again— We failed. We failed to do that so kailangan pa namin practice-in yung pag close ng game.” Coach Mia expressed her remorse. “But during the last medyo na-ano na sila, nawala na yung composure nila ng kunti so nahirapan sila to get back in the game.”

Coach Mia shared that hopefully in the coming Play-ins this season that her players can instill within themselves the right maturity and composure in more closed games and sets. “Kailangan yung offense namin humabol sa defense namin kasi mas buo ang defense namin. At yung spikers, need nila mas aggressive sila kasi kaya naman nila; but then again hindi pa sila ganon ka kompyansa sa kaya nila gawin.”

Out of all the Lady Bombers’ previous games, it wasn’t everyday that they could get so close to their opponents’ scores and actually hit back just as much as the other team. Compared to their previous game with the Lady Stags, they came so close yet still far.