The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Lady Blazers cruised past the Colegio San Juan de Letran (CSJL) Lady Knights, 3-0, to clinch their second win in the 2024 V-League Collegiate Challenge, on Sunday,  Aug. 8, at the Paco Arena in Manila.

The first set was a rally-off from both teams, as it went on for 31 minutes. When the score knotted at 12, the Lady Blazers bursted for five straight points. The Taft squad would find themselves stuck at 23 as the Lady Knights ran all the way back down from eight points to cut their deficit to two. Despite the comeback, a couple errors for the Muralla squad benefitted the Lady Blazers in the end, 25-21.

The second set was a closer battle between both teams, as the Lady Blazers held a two-point lead for the majority of the set. Cristy Ondangan made sure the ladies in green and white would take the set, as she got hot with her serving, successfully converting 17 attacks for Benilde to prevent the Lady Knights from making another huge run, 25-22. 

The third set started as a seesaw battle as the score was deadlock after deadlock. However, a short run by the Lady Blazers forced the Lady Knights to call a timeout, as a Wielyn Estoque spike brought them to 12-8. The Lady Blazers maintained this lead as they went on to win 25-21.

Estoque earned player of the game honoraries, after dropping 22 points, with 19 successful attacks, two blocks, and an ace.  

After a slow start in the tournament, the Taft squad now holds a 2-2 record, taking the fourth spot in the women’s division. The Lady Blazers will face off against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses on Aug. 25 at the same venue, with live coverage on the V-League Facebook page and website.

Set Scores: 25-21, 25-22, 25-21