Lady Blazers overcome shaky start vs Mapua, seal another finals return

MANILA, Philippines -- College of St. Benilde shook off its opening-set jitters and turned back Mapua, 20-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-18, on Sunday to earn its fourth straight trip to the finals in NCAA Season 100 women’s volleyball at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

But it took some scolding from former coach and now team consultant Jerry Yee for the Lady Blazers to wake up from that opening-set slumber, seize control in the final three sets and snare the win.

“We were a little slow in the first set, that’s why coach Jerry woke them up a bit,” said CSB mentor Onyok Getigan referring to Yee.

Thanks to the victory, CSB claimed the first seat in the best-of-three finale next week versus either No. 2 Letran or No. 3 Arellano University, which face off Tuesday at the same venue.

It will be the fourth straight year that the Lady Blazers will play in the championship round where they will have a shot at a magnificent four-peat feat.

Zam Nolasco came through on this one and dropped a match-high 19-point effort in a match that also saw Rhea Mae Densing, Shahanna Rheign Lleses and skipper Mycah Go stepped up with 13, 11 and 10 hits, respectively.

In men’s action earlier, No. 4 Letran shocked top seed CSB, 25-17, 25-23, 25-23, to force a do-or-die showdown for a finals ticket set Tuesday.