Saturday, April 8, 2017

STI College Sta. Maria wins STI Women's Volleyball title


The Champions

Determination, resiliency and consistency - these are just some traits that champions are made of. True enough the determined and resilient spikers from Sta. Maria Bulacan willed their way to the championship and stuck with their consistency on their attacks to eke out a hard earned 25 – 18, 23 – 25, 25 – 20, 25 – 20 win over the hard fighting STI College Global City team.  The win enabled STI College Sta. Maria to capture the first STI Women’s Volleyball Challenge that was participated by 24 STI schools.

 Margie Bermeo skies for the ball

STI College Sta. Maria started like a house on fire as they raised to an early lead in the first set and held on to it and never relinquished it.  The Sta. Maria spikers wanted to start on a good note since they played catch up against STI College Santa Rosa in the semifinals. The team wanted to show much energy and it rubbed on to the rest of the team.

A spectacular joust at the net

Leading the way for STI College Sta. Maria was the awesome twosome of Margie Bermeo and Josephine Victorio.  Prior to the game the two high flyers received special awards with Bermeo getting the best attacker award and Victorio the Best Spiker award. On the other side of the court STI College Global City’s Daisy Salimbacod was given the Best Blocker award while Dyanara Daquil garnered the Best Server award. Victorio also joined Global City’s captain Lyka Caniya as part of the Mythical 6.

The Best Offense vs. The Best Defense

Looking at the resume of the players on both sides gives you a sense of excitement for the match. That excitement came in the second set when both teams bled for every point with STI College Global City equalizing on the account of a 25 – 23  hard-earned second set win. In their past two games, STI College Global City would lose badly the first set but come back strong to take the next three sets and with them equalizing, the championship was on to a thrilling finale with both teams now in full gear.

Lyka Caniya attacks the Sta. Maria defense

At the top of the third set, STI College Global City’s renewed confidence fueled their games as they fought their Bulacan based opponents for every point. Five feet Ten inch middle blocker Daisy Salimbacod was an intimidating force in the middle that kept Bermeo and Victorio from scoring at will. STI College Global City’s Paula Princesa on the other hand alternated with Lyka Caniya in Global City’s attack on the Sta. Maria team that gave them the upper-hand early on.

Sta. Maria players on the same page

This prompted the STI College Sta. Maria team to regroup, come out more determined in answering back the Global City attack and more resilient in attacking their opponent’s defense. The result was a 25 – 20 third set win that put the Bulacan spikers one step closer to the title.  After that third set win, the Sta. Maria Bulacan team’s renewed confidence made them gear up for the knock-out punch to put their opponents away. But STI College Global City did not go out without a fight. Trailing 14 – 18 in the fourth set, 4th year Travel Management Senior and team Captain Lyka Caniya carried her team one last time as they equalized 18 – all with Caniya rifling off three aces.

The Tournament MVP Margie Bermeo

That was the cue that Sta. Maria Spiker Margie Bermeo needed to fuel her team’s attack once again as her booming hits penetrated the Global City defense that helped STI College Sta. Maria end the set with a 25 – 20 win and claim the crown. Margie Bermeo was declared the tournament Most Valuable Player as she displayed her all around brilliance with monster numbers to boot as she came out with her best performance in the biggest stage as she scored 32 big points. Congratulations STI College Sta. Maria the 2017 STI Women’s Volleyball Challenge Champions.

STI College Sta. Maria and STI College Global City players pose for a pic after the game


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