Arellano University survived a major scare from Letran, 25-14, 26-28, 25-19, 25-16, on Tuesday to keep its title-retention bid on track in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 women’s volleyball action at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Lady Chiefs improved to 6-1 won-lost for solo second place, but the hard-earned win worried Head Coach Roberto Javier.
“The performance of the team is worrying me,” Javier said. “The players are not consistent. The game should’ve not gone that way.”
“Yes, we’re defending a title and it’s not convincing on how we are tackling our matches. If you want to defend your title, your performance should also be improving and you should be consistent,” he added.
Reigning Most Valuable Player Regine Arocha had 15 points and three aces and Necole Ebuen added 10 points, two aces and eight excellent digs, with Faye Flores helping out with 13 excellent digs for the Lady Chiefs, who are eyeing a fourth-straight crown.
Arellano University’s core playmaker, Sarah Verutiao, struggled and managed only four excellent sets out of 44 attempts. The Lady Chiefs only made seven successful sets out of 136 tries.
The Lady Chiefs are bound for a long break and will only again play on February 13 against winless Emilio Aguinaldo before taking on undefeated College of Saint Benilde on February 17.
“We’re going to practice, no days off until we get to the next game. My target is to end up No. 2 only. I told them if we end up in the No. 3, we’re going to do extra efforts to get to the finals,” Javier said.
Chamberlaine Cunada led the Lady Knights with 15 attacks and one ace while Julienne Castro added nine points, one block and 10 excellent sets. Its two-game winning streak snapped, Letran fell to fifth spot with a 3-3 card.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, had an easier day against the Knights, 25-22, 25-12, 25-17, in men’s play to notch their fifth win in seven matches.
Jesrael Liberato paced the Chiefs with 17 points built on 14 attacks and three blocks, Christian Segovia added 12 points, Joshua Esguerra had 13 excellent digs and five excellent receptions and Adrian Villados made 10 excellent sets.
Michael Doria had eight points and Brylle Novo added six points and nine receptions for the Knights.