Colegio de San Juan de Letran rookies took the spotlight to give head coach Oliver Almadro a fitting debut with a 16-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17 win against Arellano University in the NCAA Season 99 women's volleyball tournament on Wednesday.
Prized recruits Gia Maquilang and Nizelle Martin showed the way as they shrugged off a first set hiccup to open their campaign with a 1-0 card while Arellano failed to sustain its momentum to go 0-1.
The Lady Knights refused to dwell on their scramble in the opening frame, which saw the Lady Chiefs outplay them with 15 attacks against their eight.
Letran, which narrowly missed the Final Four a season back, was quick to adjust come the succeeding sets with emphasis on their services after unleashing a total of nine aces in second and third sets to cruise to a commanding 2-1 set lead.
Martin proved to be crucial in the fourth set, completing a down-the-line hit that sent the Muralla crew to a 19-10 lead before sophomore Judiel Nitura had them doubling up on Arellano at 20-10.
Maquilang, the rookie MVP in the previous women's beach volleyball tournament, lived up to the hype after nailing three straight attacks before an attack error from Arellano saw them enjoying nine match points, 24-15.
Martin then destroyed the wall to deliver the game-winning point as Letran completed the comeback.
The 20-year-old Maquilang marked her indoor volleyball debut with an all-around performance of 17 points anchored on 14 attacks and three aces on top of eight receptions while Martin collected 16 markers together with six digs.
Opposite hitter Nitura showed maturity and posted 15 points while another second-year in libero Lara Mae Silva collared a whopping 33 digs and 11 receptions.
"I said that we have to do good repeatedly, we don't need to rush things. They will do their part and we will do our part and just follow the system," said Almadro, who came back to NCAA 25 years after playing for Letran, shared about what he told the players after the first set defeat.
"And they just followed the system, sumunod lang sila sa gusto nilang mangyari."
Arellano, who is eager to complete a redemption after failing to make the semifinals last season, banked on team captain Dodee Batindaan who churned out 16 points while Robbie Matawaran chipped in 12.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
