The AU Lady Chiefs faced the JRU Lady Bombers last Sunday, 17 July 2022, 2 PM. The two teams battled it out in a do-or-die game for a ticket to the NCAA Season 97 Championship round.
The first 6 fielded in set one for the Lady Chiefs were team captain Carla Donato, Princess Bello, Donna Paralejas, Miya Diño, Nicole Sasuman, Trina Abay, and Libero Alliah Daisog. They had a rocky start with the Lady Bombers immediately scoring three points off the bat. However, after an error committed by the Lady Bombers, the Lady Chiefs started to rally, with Nicole “Boks" Sasuman scoring down the line to tie the game at 3-3. The scores remained close between the two teams; however, the Lady Bombers’ strong serves, strong attacks, and errors committed by the Lady Chiefs, led them to gain as much as a 6 point lead at 8-14. The Lady Chiefs stopped the bleeding with a check ball made by Princess Bello, but, the strong defense and continuous errors by the Lady Chiefs led the Lady Bombers to reach the second technical time out at 9-16.
Donna Paralejas and Princess Bello were subbed out in the latter part of the set by rookies KC Adante and Pauline De Guzman respectively. The Lady Bombers had a 13-4 run in the first set. Team captain Carla Donato scored with a kill block that stopped the bleeding for the Lady Chiefs at 11-19. Following the kill block, Trina Abay scored with a quick. The solid defense of the Lady Chiefs started to chip away the lead of the Lady Bombers little by little at 13-19. Miya Diño then scored with a fiery spike after an over reception by the Lady Bombers, 14-19. After a crucial service error made by Boks Sasuman, the Lady Bombers stayed aggressive, getting the point at 15-22. The Lady Chiefs responded with a strong quick attack by Trina Abay followed by dump ball by KC Adante, and a kill block by Pauline De Guzman cutting the lead to 4 points at 18-22. The Lady Bombers responded with a cross court hit. The set ended at 19-25 after a service error made by Trina Abay.
The Lady Chiefs started the second set strong with an 8-0 run. However, the Lady Bombers started to rally with a 3-point run, cutting the lead to 5 points at 3-8. After a service error made by the Lady Bombers along with a service ace by Pauline De Guzman, the Lady Chiefs continued to play on the offensive; with team captain Carla Donato scoring a fiery quick, giving the Lady Chiefs an 8 point lead at 11-3. The Lady Bombers responded with a drop ball followed by an attack error by Boks Sasuman and KC Adante cut the lead to 5 points, at 11-6. After an exchange of errors between the two teams, Boks Sasuman made a service ace giving the Lady Chiefs an 8 point lead at 6-14. The Lady Bombers were quick to respond with a dump attack by their setter. Along with a mistimed attack by the Lady Chiefs and a service ace cut the Lady Chiefs’ lead to 4 points.
The Lady Bombers had a 6-0 run at 14-13, with the Lady Chiefs struggling to get a good first ball. It was the Trina Abay-KC Adante that stopped the rally of the Lady Bombers. The scores stayed close between the two teams, with AU altering between a 1-2 point lead. However, after the clean quick attack of team captain Carla Donato along with Donna Paralejas subbing in for the serve, the rally of the Lady Chiefs continued with a comfortable 3 point lead at 21-18. After an exchange of errors, the Lady Chiefs’ solid defense and a strong attack by Pauline De Guzman, the Lady Chiefs obtained a 4 point lead at 23-19. The set ended with an attack error by the Lady Bombers at 25-20.
The Lady Chiefs continued their momentum at the start of the third set, with a 3-0 run. However, the Lady Bombers were quick to turn the tide with their solid defense along with a service ace, tying the game at 3-3. The Lady Chiefs continued to struggle getting a good first ball and committed errors, which gave the Lady Bombers a 4 point lead at 3-7. The Lady Bombers’ momentum earned them as much as a 6 point lead at 3-9. However, Pauline De Guzman along with the solid defense of the Lady Chiefs sparked a rally for them. With back-to-back service aces by Pauline De Guzman, the lead was cut to 2 points, 7-9.
The scores were close between the two teams, with the Lady Bombers leading between 2-3 points. However, after the piling errors committed by the Lady Bombers, the Lady Chiefs tied at 12-12. The Chiefs played solid offense and floor defense giving them a 2 point lead at 14-12. The offense was led by Miya Diño, Trina Abay, and Pauline De Guzman, allowing the Lady Chiefs to reach the technical time out at 16-14.
The Lady Bombers slowly chipped the Lady Chiefs’ lead, tying the game at 17 all. The scores remained close, with the two teams competing for a comfortable lead. Boks Sasuman then scored back-to-back points off the block, giving the Lady Chiefs a 3 point lead at 21-18. However, the Lady Bombers played steadily and tied the game at 21 all. With the continuous errors of the Lady Chiefs, the Lady Bombers took the lead at 24-21. Nevertheless, Boks Sasuman’s composure along with the defense of the Lady Chiefs led the game to a deuce at 24 all. It was Miya Diño’s fiery attack along with Boks Sasuman’s service ace that led the Lady Chiefs to take the lead at 26-25. The set ended with an attack error committed by the Lady Bombers, with the final score at 27-25 in favor of the Lady Chiefs.
The fourth set started with an exchange of scores between the two teams. However, the Lady Chiefs took charge after the clean quick attack along with a service ace made by team captain Carla Donato (4-3). The quick attacks set by KC Adante to Trina Away proved efficient, giving the Chiefs a 3 point lead at 7-4. Miya Diño took the team to the technical time out first with a fiery hit, at 8-5. The Lady Chiefs continued to play with solid defense along with a good find by Pauline De Guzman, giving the Lady Chiefs a 5 point lead at 10-5. The Lady Bombers then committed back to back attack errors, giving the Lady Chiefs a 6 point advantage at 12-6. The Lady Chiefs continued to play steadily, gaining by as much as an 8 point lead at 18-10. However, the Lady Chiefs struggled to win the match point. It was from off the bench player Lorraine Pecaña who scored the winning point to close the set at 25-17.
The Lady Chiefs closed the game in 4 sets, with the scores 19-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-17. They are set to play against the undefeated CSB Lady Blazers for the Championship in a best of 3 series on Wednesday, 20 July 2022, 1:30 PM for Game One.
