Cangrejeras go up 2-0 in LVSF finals.

Madison Kingdon, right, led a balanced Santurce offense with 16 points (14 attacks, a block and an ace). (Heriberto Rosario Rosa / FPV)

By THE STAR STAFF

The Cangrejeras of Santurce defeated the Leonas of Ponce in straight sets at Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium in Ponce on Saturday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Women’s Superior Volleyball League (LVSF by its initials in Spanish) finals.

The set scores were 25-15, 27-25 and 25-22.

“It was a hard-fought match, just as we expected,” Cangrejeras libero Débora Seilhamer said in a written statement. “We are on their home court, and as we saw in the semifinals, they really step up their game here. Despite their roster setbacks, we knew it was going to be an extremely tough contest, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.”

“Every game is going to be a battle,” she added. “Even though they have ended in three sets, each set has been intense. We cannot afford to ease up or get complacent at any moment.”

Ponce took the court without two key players, Raymariely Santos and Sherridan Atkinson, who did not play due to injuries. Ponce libero Valeria León addressed the situation.

“Obviously, we know we are missing Raymariely and Sherridan, who are very important players for us,” she said. “Nevertheless, today we went out there to battle against a great team. With or without them, we can compete and secure a victory. It comes down to making one, two, or three adjustments, but we know we can be right there in the fight.”

The third match will take place tonight at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Hato Rey, where the Cangrejeras took the series opener in straight sets (25-23, 25-19 and 25-19) on Friday night.

“Heading to the Clemente on Monday is a very important game for us,” León said. “We cannot fall behind 0-3 in the series. We have a sense of urgency. Let’s get ready, put this defeat behind us, and focus on Monday.”

Although Santurce dominated the first set, the second and third sets could have gone either way. After taking the second set in extra points, the Cangrejeras had to withstand another spirited comeback attempt by the Leonas, who refused to yield in front of the more than 3,000 fans who packed the Pachín.

Santurce reached the second technical timeout leading 16-14 following a successful attack by Andrea Rangel from Zone 2; later, they extended their lead to 19-16 with another spike from the Mexican star from the same zone. However, Ponce responded with a 6-3 run -- fueled by two consecutive attacks from Enright and an offensive error by Kara McGhee through the middle -- to tie the score at 22.

The Cangrejeras then closed out the set and the match with a three-point rally: Helena Grozer spiked the ball off the hands of the Ponce block, the Leonas’ Claire Chaussee misfired on an attack from Zone 4, and Grozer sealed the victory with a service ace.

Santurce’s offense was a balanced effort, led by recently signed American import Madison Kingdon with 16 points (14 attacks, 1 block and 1 ace), followed by Grozer with 15, Rangel with 12, and Neira Ortiz with 10.

Enright led the way for shorthanded Ponce with 14 points (all on attacks), while Chaussee contributed 13 points and Nataly García added 12.