NCAA volleyball: Undefeated Arellano far from perfect, says coach

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Arellano University may be undefeated so far in NCAA Season 93 but the Lady Chiefs’ impressive start won’t hide the fact that they still have some pressing matters to address.

One major concern is their tendency to be complacent which was evident against Jose Rizal University on Tuesday.

Arellano looked invincible after dumping JRU, 25-11, in the opening set but the next set saw a different Lady Chiefs, a team that was lethargic and sloppy.

READ: NCAA volleyball: Lady Chiefs drop a set, but improve to 4-0

The Lady Bombers, an emerging contender, took advantage and dealt the Lady Chiefs their first set loss of the season.

“We were again back to our old habit. We dominated the first set but only to relax in the next. We have that tendency to just let our guard down,” said Arellano coach Obet Javier in Filipino.

“It’s the mental part of the game where we need to improve on. The players tend to lose their focus after winning and that’s really our No. 1 problem.”

Fortunately for Javier, his Lady Chiefs regained their form en route to a four-set victory.

Javier said dropping the second set was also a valuable lesson for his team with still five games left in the elimination round.

“It was good what JRU did to us. It reminded us that we can’t be complacent.”