NCAA volleyball: Lady Cardinals shoot down Generals to boost Final Four bid

MAPUA pulled off a 14-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-23 victory over Emilio Aguinaldo College to bolster its Final Four bid Saturday in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament at the San Andres Sports Complex.

The Lady Cardinals rebounded from a first-set defeat to raise their record at 5-2.

The win also kept Mapua within distance of idle University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, which sits in second place with a 5-1 record.

In the first match, San Sebastian finally barged into the win column by outlasting Jose Rizal University, 17-25, 28-26, 14-25, 25-16, 15-9.

Greg Cabadin was solid for the Lady Cardinals with 16 points, including two service aces, while Tere Manalo also scored 16 points. KJ Dionisio had 27 points and seven digs while Tina Marasigan had three service aces for a 24-point outing as the Lady Stags rallied from a 1-2 set deficit to halt a six-match slide. Setter Vea Sison tallied 17 excellent sets and two service aces while libero Jewelle Bermillo collected 19 digs and 13 reception.

Riza Rose and Mary May Ruiz scored 21 points apiece for the Lady Bombers, who stumbled to their seventh consecutive defeat.

San Sebastian and JRU reached the Final Four last season, but losses to their key players this season made them miss the next round.

The Bombers still has something to contend for despite all the struggles from their women’s squad.

In men’s play, Windel Laurenciana had 18 kills, 15 receptions and 12 digs while Aldre Ferrer tossed in 26 excellent sets as JRU improved to 3-4 and bolstered its semis bid following a 25-20, 25-21, 25-27, 26-24 conquest of San Sebastian.

The Stags, who drew 23 points from Kyle Villamor, fell to 1-6.

Krizzia Reyes and Jamaica Villena had 20 and 12 points, respectively for the Lady Generals.

EAC fell in a tie with San Beda at 1-5.

Standings W L: *Benilde 7 0, Perpetual 5 1, Mapua 5 2, Arellano 4 2, Letran 4 2, LPU 4 2, San Beda 1 5, EAC 1 5, SSC-R 1 6, JRU 0 7 (*Final Four)

Games Sunday (San Andres Sports Complex): 8:30 a.m. – LPU vs San Beda (Men), 12 noon – LPU vs San Beda (Women), 2 p.m. – Letran vs Perpetual (Women), 4:30 p.m. – Letran vs Perpetual (Men)