Juncos bounces back in quarterfinals, hands Pinkin their 3rd loss.

Naya Gross finished with 18 points for the Valencianas in their five-set win over Corozal. (Heriberto Rosario Rosa - FPV)

By THE STAR STAFF

The Valencianas of Juncos secured their first victory in two outings on Sunday night in the Women’s Superior Volleyball League (LVSF by its initials in Spanish) Section A quarterfinals, defeating the Pinkin of Corozal in a five-set thriller and handing them their third loss in as many matches.

Juncos -- which recently added Puerto Rican setter Jennifer Nogueras and American player Kaleigh Nelson to its roster -- prevailed with set scores of 25-16, 24-26, 24-26, 25-23 and 16-14. With Nogueras’ arrival, American setter Isabelle Morgan departed the team.

After convincingly dominating the first set, the Valencianas entered a second set that proved to be extremely tight.

The score remained tied from points 20 through 25, but the Pinkin closed out the set with two consecutive points: an effective spike by Adriana Rodríguez from Zone 3 and an attack by Daly Santana from Zone 4, evening the match at a set apiece.

The third set was a carbon copy of the second. Corozal took a 20-16 lead thanks to two direct service aces from Santana, but Juncos countered with a 4-0 run -- including a running attack by Naya Gross -- to tie the set.

Once again, the score remained tied from 22 to 24, and once again, the Pinkin closed it out in extra points, with Rodríguez delivering effectively from the middle and a block against Leandra Mangual sealing the win.

Juncos staged a comeback in the fourth set, which saw its final tie at 23 points when Mangual successfully attacked from Zone 4 to secure set point. Immediately thereafter, Juncos forced the decisive fifth set following a failed attack by Ivania Ortiz, who sent the ball into the antenna.

In the deciding fifth set, Juncos reached match point at 14-12 thanks to a back-row attack by Kelly Sánchez and a block by Marcelle Báez against Jordan Iliff. The Pinkin managed to tie the score at 14, but their late rally fell short.

The Valencianas sealed the victory with Mangual’s 25th point -- scored from Zone 4 -- and a spike by Corozal’s Santana that landed out of bounds.

Juncos’ offensive output was distributed among Mangual (25 points), Gross (18), Haley Bush (12) and Báez (11).

Iliff led the way for Corozal with 26 points, followed by Ortiz (16) and Santana (15).

Quarterfinal play will resume in Section A today when the group leader, the Cangrejeras of Santurce (3-0), visit the Valencianas at Rafael G. Amalbert Coliseum, starting at 8:30 p.m. A victory for Juncos would earn the team a direct pass to the semifinals.

A Section B quarterfinal match was slated for Monday night at Salvador Dijols Arena in Ponce, with the Leonas (1-1) hosting the Atenienses of Manatí (1-2). A win for Ponce would secure their spot in the semifinals and eliminate the Atenienses from the postseason.

Puerto Rican setter Jennifer Nogueras (6), recently added to the Juncos roster, sets up Marcelle Báez for a spike. (Heriberto Rosario Rosa - FPV)