Lady Stags close in on semis

MANILA, Philippines — San Sebastian College edged San Beda in a marathon contest, 25-21, 23-25, 30-32, 25-23, 15-13, yesterday and closed in on a Final Four spot in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament at the Paco Arena.

Super rookie Kath Santos went on a spiking frenzy and came through with a career-high 24 points including a whopping 22 on kills to power the Lady Stags to a 5-2 record, a win away from joining St. Benilde and Arellano U in the Final Four.

SSC only needs to hurdle at least one of its last two outings against Lyceum of the Philippines U on Friday and Letran on Sunday.

It was the third victory in four five-set duels for the Lady Stags, underscoring their ability to handle the tremendous pressure of such nerve-wracking games.

SSC had to rally from one-set-to-two down and five points behind in the fourth set and an 8-10 deficit in the deciding set to snatch the come-from-behind triumph against San Beda.

SSC coach Roger Gorayeb said they needed games like this to toughen up his wards.

“The girls still have a very low confidence level and still lacked exposure. Hopefully, these tough games would help them get that confidence,” said Gorayeb.

The Lady Red Spikers slipped to 2-5.

In the other game, Arellano U eliminated Emilio Aguinaldo College, 25-21, 25-18, 26-24, to stay at second with a 7-1 card.

The Lady Generals fell to 2-6 and out of Final Four contention.