INITIALLY STARTING OUT strong at the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Challenge Cup 2023, the San Beda Lady Red Spikers swept De La Salle University-Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) and Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas (LPU-B) for their first two games but fell off and lost to the University of the Philippines (UP) and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) at the end of the group stage and in the quarterfinals, respectively.

The group stage was held from November 7 to 21 while the quarterfinals was held on November 22 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

SBU vs. DLSU-D

The Lady Red Spikers swept DLSU-D in straight sets, 25-19, 25-17, 25-16, in their debut match for the PNVF Challenge Cup. The first set saw the Lady Red Spikers stay close to DLSU-D coming into the first technical timeout. After being tied, 13-13, DLSU-D went on a rally with six unanswered points. The Lady Red Spikers gained momentum after a timeout and rallied to take the set after scoring 12 straight points, winning at 25-19.

The Lady Red Spikers continued their momentum in the second set, scoring through 12 attacks and four aces. They finished the set with a score of 25-17, gaining a 2-0 game lead.

The third and final set saw the Lady Red Spikers finish off DLSU-D through 15 attacks, two aces, and a block, along with seven opponent errors. 

In the end, the team then won in three straight sets, gaining their first win in the competition. Outside hitter Angel Mae Habacon took the Player of the Game honors by virtue of being the game’s top scorer. 

SBU vs. LPU-B

The second game for the Lady Red Spikers saw them face LPU-B. The Lady Red Spikers swept the Batangas-based team in straight sets, 25-17, 25-13, 25-18, and gained their second win in Pool D that solidified their spot in the quarterfinals. 

The Lady Red Spikers were able to run away in the first set after a closely contested first half. Even after being bested by LPU-B in attacks, the Lady Red Spikers benefited from 11 opponent errors and solid net defense with five blocks. The Lady Red Spikers took the first set, 25-17.

This was followed by a second set domination of the Lady Red Spikers. They took an early lead that snowballed throughout the set. It was through defense once again that led the Lady Red Spikers to a set victory, outscoring LPU-B, four blocks to none. The Lady Red Spikers were also able to benefit from eight opponent errors, taking the second set with a score of 25-13 and gaining a 2-0 lead.

The third and final set of the game saw a similar outcome as the second set, with the Lady Red Spikers taking a huge advantage on their way to a 25-18 win. The Mendiola-based squad were able to take the set by outsourcing LPU-B in attacks, 10-7, along with four aces. 

In this match, Habacon took her second Player of the Game honors. She credited her performance to the team’s improved offense and team connection on the court.

Head Coach Edgar Barroga spoke on the improvements of the Lady Red Spikers, saying that “…ang unangchanges na naging positive dito is their attitude; their winning attitude. And also, yung ano nila… pagiging matibay nila sa loob ng court, na walang sisihan at nagkakaroon sila nang magandang samahan at sabihin natin tumitibay ang paniniwala nila; trust nila sa isa’t isa.”

SBU vs. UP

The final game of the Lady Red Spikers in Pool D was a loss against UP in four sets: 25-20, 17-25, 11-25, 22-25. Despite the loss, the Lady Red Spikers booked their slot in the quarterfinals placing second in their group. 

The team took the first set-off of 15 attacks and nine opponent errors. They were also able to limit the offensive tempo of UP, only allowing 12 points of attacks and focusing on attacks down the center. The Lady Red Spikers took the first set, 25-20.

A closely contested second set saw the team fall short after a UP run that amounted to six unanswered points. The Lady Red Spikers scored through seven attacks and ten opponent errors; while allowing UP to benefit from 11 opponent errors, losing the second set 17-25.

The third set saw the Lady Red Spikers continue to suffer from their woes. They only managed to score 11 points from eight attacks and three opponent errors, being answered by the UP defense who were able to score three points off of blocks and seven points due to opponent errors. The Lady Red Spikers fell to a game score of 1-2, with UP taking the third set, 11-25.

The Lady Red Spikers ultimately fell short of a fourth-set comeback, rallying to trail by two points heading into match point, after trailing by as much as six points throughout the set. They were able to score off of 11 attacks, one ace, two blocks, and eight opponent errors. The early lead of UP allowed them to take the set, winning 22-25 and closing out the game with a score of 3-1.

Gabrielle Bernal and team captain Erin Navarro also spoke about their performance in the heated match. Erin commended the team’s performance in the group stages. “Sobrang saya kasi… ang unexpected na biglang lumalabas ‘yung parang hidden skills ng bawat isa.”

For her part, Bernal thanked the team and her teammates for their continuous hard work and dedication on the court and in practice, as well as giving her message to the Bedan community. 

“For the Bedan community, thank you kasi pa-unti-unti nakukuha namin ang trust niyo, pa-unti-unti namin nakukuha ang support niyo. And I hope na ma-stop ‘yung stigma about sa ‘min. And ‘yun, pinapakita naman namin na iba yung image namin ngayong year, iba ang dapat niyong abangan. And siyempre Bedan tayo lahat dito, dapat nagtutulungan tayo, we don’t drag each other down.”

SBU vs. DLS-CSB (Quarterfinals)

An all-NCAA affair was in store at the quarterfinals for the Lady Red Spikers, as they faced the defending NCAA champions, DLS-CSB. However, the Lady Red Spikers ultimately fell in four sets: 14-25, 25-23, 13-25, 20-25, marking the end of their journey in the PNVF Challenge Cup 2023.

The attacks of the Lady Red Spikers were hampered in the first set, with CSB’s floor defense limiting points from attacks to eight. Benilde was able to gain six points from opponent errors on their way to a 14-25 first-set victory.

Despite being down by as much as five points before the first technical timeout of the second set, the Lady Red Spikers were able to tie the game at 13 apiece and eventually gain their first lead of the set through blocks and opponent errors. 

Although DLS-CSB was able to regain the lead heading into the second technical timeout, the Lady Red Spikers rode off the momentum of two straight attack points from Habacon to take the come-from-behind set victory, stealing the set win, 25-23.   

Accordingly, the Lady Red Spikers continued to in their form. Errors became the Achilles’ heel for the Lady Red Spikers, dropping seven points in favor of DLS-CSB. Benilde took the third set of the match, 13-25, and gained the game lead two sets to one.

The fourth set saw a trade of leads from both sides heading into each of the technical timeouts. Even after finding their second set form, the Lady Red Spikers could not contain DLS-CSB’s attacks. The Mendiola squad dropped the final set of the match, 20-25.

Despite the loss, Coach Edgar applauded the performance of the Lady Red Spikers as he saw their improvement from the last pre-season league they joined.