Lady Blazers fire back, blank Letran to forge winner-take-all Game 3
At A Glance
- Picking up the pieces from the shock five-set loss in the series opener, the five-peat seeking Lady Blazers were quick to assert their might and then kept control against hard-fighting Lady Knights to notch the statement win.
Zam Nolasco leads College of St. Benilde with 19 points. (NCAA Images)
College of St. Benilde displayed its championship poise and dominated Letran, 25-18, 25-21, 27-25, to force a winner-take-all in Game 3 of the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball finals at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday, April 8.
Picking up the pieces from the shock five-set loss in the series opener, the five-peat seeking Lady Blazers were quick to assert their might and then kept control against hard-fighting Lady Knights to notch the statement win.
Zam Nolasco, fresh from bagging her tournament Most Valuable Player award, spearheaded the assault for the CSB, unloading 19 points built on 16 attacks, three blocks and an ace.
Unlike the opening game that went down the wire, it was a lopsided affair in Game 2 — something that the 21-year-old is crediting to CSB’s eagerness to bounce back.
“After po nung natalo kami ng first game parang sinasabi ko, kaya pa, kakayanin ko. Tapos dadalhin ko 'yung team sa Game 3 And 'yun po, nangyari naman po kasi willing din naman po 'yung mga teammates ko na mag Game 3 talaga kami,” said Nolasco.
Camila Bartolome provided ample support with 14 points while Clydel Catarig and Fiona Innocentes added 11 and 9, respectively.
Verenicce Colendra paced the Lady Knights with 11 points – nine of which she fired during a huge third set run where Letran recovered from a 13-18.
An attack from Colendra off two CSB blockers even put Letran on the front seat, 25-24 but back-to-back errors and a Nolasco attack that proved to be too hot for the Lady Knights to handle ended the contest.