Lady Stags stretch V-League run

San Sebastian coach Roger Gorayeb is obviously setting the bar a little bit higher this time for his Lady Stags.

 San Sebastian-Excelroof coasted to a 27-25, 25-21, 25-18 victory over Perpetual Help yesterday to stretch its winning run to four games in the Shakey’s V-League Season 7 second conference at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

 But Gorayeb was far from impressed, saying the Lady Stags squad should have won the first set in convincing fashion. 

“We were terrible in the first,” said Gorayeb in Filipino. “We were hitting balls which were supposed to be out and letting go of balls which were going in.”

Responding to Gorayeb’s challenge after that scrambling first set, the Lady Stags flexed just enough muscle, easily winning the next two frames to wrap up the victory in an hour and 15 minutes.

Thai import Jeng Bualee and Suzanne Roces found all sorts of gaps in the Perpetual Help defense as the Lady Stags secured their place in the quarterfinal round with three games remaining in their elimination-round schedule.

Later, Lyceum walloped St. Benilde in straight sets, 25-13, 25-13, 25-15, to move within a victory of reaching the next round.

Mary Jean Balse provided the firepower with 18 points  while Joy Cases, Jamie Rose Pena and Dahlia Cruz combined for 36 as Lyceum bounced back from a stinging defeat to Adamson last Thursday.

Bualee finished with a game-high 27 points, while Roces had 15 for the Lady Stags, who outscored the Lady Altas, 56-35, on attacks, The Lady Altas came within 19-20 in the second set, before the Lady Stags scored five of the next seven points, with Roces’ tip making it 2-sets to love.

Bualee sustained the Lady Stags’ torrid assault, scoring six of the first eight points in the second set, where San Sebastian raced to a 16-7 advantage.

But a spate of errors allowed Perpetual Help to slice the deficit, 12-16, before Bualee conjured three consecutive attacks that all but wrapped up the match, 23-15.