The rivalry continued, this time on the taraflex.
Colegio de San Juan de Letran refused to let a first set debacle get in the way as it turned back archrival San Beda University in five sets, 21-25, 25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 15-9 to finally break through the win column of the NCAA Season 97 women's volleyball tournament on Wednesday.
Letran now sports a 1-3 card following three losses to open the season while San Beda remained winless in four games to sink to the bottom of the standings.
Eager to finish off the game, Letran opened the deciding fifth set in a rousing fashion, building an early 8-6 lead with San Beda incurring three costly errors.
A middle hammer from Daisy Melendres sent Letran to the match point, 14-8, before an attack error from San Beda sealed the deal for the Lady Knights.
Letran struggled in the first, giving San Beda a 23-19 lead as MJ Tayag gave the Lay Red Spikers the set point, 24-20. Julienne Castro saved a set point through a swipe attack but an error from her won the set for San Beda, 25-21.
Letran then came alive in second and third sets with the Mike Inoferio-mentored team capitalizing on the errors from the red and white. Back-to-back errors from San Beda to end the frame evened the match at one set apiece.
Letran flashed pure dominance in the third, notching 12 attacks, two blocks, and two aces while forcing San Beda to commit nine errors as they moved two sets ahead, 25-15.
With both teams eager to quench the drought, the fourth set saw Letran and San Beda in a seesaw battle but a Cha Cuñada kill made it a 17-12 cushion for the Lady Knights.
But the Lady Red Spikers detonated for a 10-0 charge to regain the lead, 22-17. Max Tayag then forced a fifth set with a powerful hit from the opposite side, 25-23.
Letran will try to bag its second win in a row when it faces Lyceum of the Philippines University on Saturday as the tournament approaches its halfway mark.
San Beda, meanwhile, will look to end its slump on Sunday against Emilio Aguinaldo College.
—JMB, GMA News
