Lady Altas clinch 3rd straight NCAA beach volley crown

University of Perpetual Help's veteran-rookie tandem of April Sartin and Norie Diaz bounced back from a 0-5 start in the third set to post a 21-17, 17-21, 15-12, win over Letran's Gena Andaya and Marinelle Carolino to clinch a third straight women's title Saturday in the 87th NCAA beach volleyball tournament at the La Salle Greenhills sand court. The Lady Altas avenged their lone loss against the Lady Knights in the preliminary round. A five-minute injury time out, after Sartin suffered from leg cramps, could have helped Perpetual get back in the game. "We're a bit pressured when we went down 0-5. I just told my teammate to focus on our game," said Sartin, a third year HRM student who was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. Perpetual Help Altas scored a 19-21, 21-10, 15-12 win over College of Saint Benilde's Rossan Fajardo and Maureen Lawrence while Letran trounced the San Beda pair of Coline Malana and Jannie Marciano, 21-15, 21-9. In the juniors division, Emilio Aguinaldo College Brigadiers dethroned two-time champion Perpetual Altalettes with a 19-21, 21-15, 15-10 victory in the finals. Jopet Movido, the remaining member of the Brigadiers pair that finished third last year, was named the juniors MVP while EAC coach Ricardo Paez was named Coach of the Year. In the seniors division, Arellano University completed its title defense after humbling elims topnotcher Perpetual Altas, 23-21, 21-18, in the finals. John Carlo Lozada bested his teammate Chris Salvador for the seniors MVP plum. "The MVP award is just an addition. The important thing is we defended our title," said Salvador. - JVP, GMA News