The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Lady Blazers grabbed the first ticket to the 2023 V-League Collegiate Challenge Finals after eliminating and sweeping the University of the East (UE) Lady Red Warriors, 3-0, on Sept. 22, at the Paco Arena Events and Sports Center.
The ball game started in a tight series of rallies as there have been alternating lead changes. The Lady Red Warriors were able to draw the first blood, but Jade Gentapa and Corrine Apostol quickly answered with their own spikes to have an early lead, 2-1. Lady Red Warior Casiey Dongallo established the resistance for UE as she delivered an attack to steal the lead, 2-4. Unforced errors derailed the offensive rallies of the Lady Blazers, resulting in a slow start. Zamantha Nolasco regained the lost momentum with two quick attacks from the successful sets of Cloanne Mondoñedo, followed by a powerful block from Gentapa to trigger the first technical timeout, 8-6. Errors disrupted both teams as points would be alternately distributed, but Gentapa manages to headstart a positive momentum as she spikes the ball to the unmanned middle spot of the opposing court, 10-7. Mich Gamit also aided in the scoring spree of the team with her signature running quick attack to extend the lead, 13-8. The latter would eventually create a short rally of resistance, led by Dongallo who delivered consecutive points to shorten the point margin, 13-10. The Lady Blazers ignited to a very dominant offensive consistency right after the second technical timeout after extending the lead to a comfortable state, 19-12. But KC Cepada of UE made sure that ladies in green and white will not finish the set effortlessly, managing to splice the blockers for consecutive spikes, 20-14. Long rallies immediately started to show late in the set as the Lady Red Warriors tried to steal the set, forcing them to convert points and close out the lead, 22-20. Nolasco initiated the finishing efforts of the Lady Blazers after serving a powerful quick attack from a Mondoñedo set, 23-20. An overpowering attack by Gentapa managed to find a hole in the opposition’s defense and eventually closed out the set in favor of the Lady Blazers, 25-21.
Back-to-back opening errors by the Lady Red Warriors gave free points to the Lady Blazers at the start of the second set, 2-0. Gayle Pascual displayed her MVP form after executing a dominant crosscourt attack, 4-2. A service ace by Gamit boosted the scoring for the Lady Blazers, followed by the series of points converted by Pascual to keep the lead, 9-4. However, Nolasco committed a series of errors, giving points to the opposition, but her towering defense answered all the errors as they made a commanding lead, 14-7. Despite suffering a hand injury in the midst of the game, Dongallo was still able to make things hard for the Taft squad as she immediately delivered a series of points to minimize the gap, 16-12. The trio of Pascual, Apostol, and Gamit made an efficient rally as they tallied straight points to regain the dominant double-digit lead, 23-13. Coming off from the sidelines, Clydel Catarig immediately made an impact as she closed the set with an attack, 25-13.
The third set was all about the Lady Blazers, as they quickly ignited a big headstart after displaying efficiency in their attacks to convert a big lead, 7-2. A runner by Gamit was immediately followed by a backrow attack by Pascual to display a statement lead, 9-2. Unfortunately, a collision between two Lady Red Warriors, Cepada and Mary Ecalla, halted the game and resulted in injuries that made both players sit out the game, with Ecalla being brought out on a stretcher. Huge scoring loads were quickly delivered by Gamit and Pascual at the continuation of the ball game, 12-4. A backrow attack delivered by a levitating Gentapa tallied a double-digit lead to make things difficult for the Lady Red Warriors, 14-4. Pascual, Nolasco, and Catarig led the scoring splurge of the Lady Blazers with powerful attacks to display the biggest lead of the game, 22-7. Led by Dongallo, UE tried to oppose the momentum of the Lady Blazers with a short rally, 23-10. A soft floating touch by Gentapa and a quick spike by Apostol concluded the semi-finals series of the 2023 V-League Collegiate Challenge, sweeping the Lady Red Warriors, 25-10.
Mondoñedo was hailed the player of the game with 15 excellent sets and 3 points in an attack and 2 blocks, followed by Pascual with 13 points in 12 attacks and a block.
The Lady Blazers are waiting for their finals opponent as the other finals ticket is yet to be grabbed. The 2023 V-League Collegiate Challenge Finals is set to start on Sept. 27 at the Paco Arena Events and Sports Center.
The match will be aired live through the YouTube page of The V-League and will be televised live on Solar Sports.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (3): Pascual 13, Nolasco 12, Gentapa 10, Gamit 10, Apostol 7, Mondoñedo 3, Catarig 3, Basarte 0, Estenzo 0, Getigan 0, Estoque 0, Dorog 0, Ondangan 0, Borromeo 0
UE (0): Dongallo 17, Cepada 7, Balingit 4, Ecalla 2, Madriaga 2, Nogales 2, Castillo 1, Famulangan 1, Villamor 0, Fernandez 0, Canete 0, Nieva 0, Zeta 0, Reyes 0
