Lady Patriots crush Lady Thunders, take game 1 of NCRAA ’23 finals

The DLSU-D Lady Patriots overpowered the Rizal Technological University (RTU) Lady Thunders in straight-sets, 25-17, 25-19, and 25-18, in the championship game 1 of the National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) season 23 women’s volleyball tournament held at the RTU gymnasium yesterday, February 3.

 

 Photo by Brandon Ocenar

Indomitable tough troop

The green-and-white squad started the first canto with DLSU-D volleybelles’ captain Iumi Yongco’s back-to-back hits and Maribeth Lara’s off speed point to gain an early four-point lead, 5-1.

The Lady Thunders immediately recovered through DLSU-D’s consecutive errors as the scores went to a deadlock, 11-all.

After Eunice Castillo’s momentum taker hit, DLSU-D volleybelles unleashed superb kills before Cherry Nunag’s two consecutive aces and Lara’s kill finisher, 25-17.

Retaining the momentum, Yongco launched the second set with three consecutive service aces, which allowed them to post an early positive phase together with Lara’s splendid kills. Displaying excellent offense and defense, the DLSU-D volleybelles marked their biggest lead of the game as they outshone the Lady Thunders, who committed series of errors, 22-11.

 

Photo by Brandon Ocenar

Despite RTU’s Rosalie Egoc’s momentum breaker kills, captain Yongco finished the second canto by unleashing a powerful spike, 25-19.

Disregarding the opponent’s home court advantage, the combination of Mara Galicia, Nunag, and Lara owned the Lady Thunders’ territory by discharging swift attacks, 9-4. Keeping the scores distant, the green-and-white squad managed to make a 10-point advantage, 20-10.

The momentum shifted for a while, letting the Lady Thunders’ crawl back into the game, when Lady Patriot Myka Tiangco sealed the deal with a spike, 25-19.

Lady Patriots’ Lara contributed 10 big points to lead the team, along with Nunag and Yongco, who combined for 19 points to sweep their game 1 win.

The Cavite-based squad will face RTU on February 15 for the second game of the championship.