SSC tossers fight back, repulse Lady Eagles

San Sebastian battled back from a tough first set loss with a gritty stand in the next three as it pounded out a 24-26, 25-13, 25-19, 25-18 victory over host Ateneo to even its card to 1-1 in the Shakey’s V-League second conference at the Blue Eagle gym last night.

Suzanne Roces scattered 19 hits while Rysabelle Devanadera and Laurence Ann Latigay combined for 26 points as the Lady Stags, three-time champions in the NCAA, stamped their class over the Lady Eagles in the next three after a shaky opening set stint.

“We had a hard time attacking because they played good defense but we were able to adjust in the second set and I’m satisfied with the result of their game,” said SSC coach Roger Gorayeb in Filipino.

The Lady Stags thus evened their card in a tie with the Eagles as the chase for berths in the Final Four in the single round robin started to shape up among the fancied teams in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and organized by Sports Vision.

Ateneo drew 12 hits from rookie Fille Cainglet but it reeled from the sidelining of top hitter Michelle Laborte in the second and third sets due to cramps. She finished with nine points along with Denise Acevedo and Angeline Gervacio while former top player Charo Soriano added eight.

Playing on their home turf, the Lady Eagles seized control early behind Soriano, Laborte and Cainglet although they had to cash in on Devanadera’s mishit and Laborte’s kill to snatch the opening set.

But the Lady Stags, coming off a four-set loss to the frontrunning Lady Archers last Friday, came alive in the next frame with Marge Pepito stepping up and combining with Devanadera after the second technical timeout as Ateneo struggled without Laborte.

The Loyola-based squad, which opened its bid in the league backed by Active White skin whitening products, Mikasa and Accel with a four-set win over Lyceum last week, bucked the absence of Laborte and went, 8-4, and 16-13, in the third set, only to yield the upperhand as the Eagles fell into a maze of errors, enabling the Lady Stags to wrest control.