Letran 1 enters Petron ladies volley semis

MANILA, Philippines - Letran 1 downed University of the East, 21-12, to advance to the semifinal round of the first leg of the 2012 Petron Ladies’ Beach volleyball tournament at the De La Salle Health Science Institute Campus sand course in Dasmariñas, Cavite yesterday.

Gena Andaya and new partner Sarah Jane Espelita outplayed UE standouts Jimberly Dawn Dizon and Leuseth Dawis to give Letran I a 2-2 card in Group B at the close of the elims campaign.

Letran 2 also advanced with a 2-2 mark in Group A as Justine Mae Tadeo and Melissa Cu held off San Beda College’s Janine Marciano and Coline Malana, 21-16.   

Andaya and Espelita will take on last year’s Battle of Champions winner Jessica Paron and Francislyn Cais of UE in a best-of-three semis duel.

Tadeo and Cu, on the other hand, battle the La Salle-Dasmariñas pair of Jennifer Manzano and Giselle Bembo in the event backed by Mikasa Balls, Speedo and DLS-Health Sciences Institute.

Manzano, a new member of the national indoor volleyball team, and Bembo came away with a four-game sweep of their Group A assignments.

Cais and Paron matched the Lady Patriots’ romp as they swept their four matches in Group B.

Andaya and Espelita got past San Beda-2’s Kim de la Vega and Debbie Dultra, 21-10, last Thursday, but bowed to UP’s Pauline Genido and Liezchel Tiu, 17-21, and then fell to Manzano and Bembo, 12-21.

But they made it to the semis after earning a higher tiebreak than Genido and Tiu.

Tadeo and Cu, on the other hand, pulled off a 23-21 win over UP pair Amanda Christina Isada and Karen Joyce del Rosario, but dropped a 14-21 setback to Iari Yongco and Mariel Desengano, and a 17-21 loss to Paron and Cais.

But they advanced to the Final Four after nipping SBC’s Marciano and Malana in the tiebreak.