Valencianas upset Criollas in 5 sets

Allanis Orama’s 18 points helped the Valencianas of Juncos rally to a five-set victory over the defending champion Criollas of Caguas.

Santurce remains undefeated, Ponce adds 3 points on the road

By THE STAR STAFF

The Valencianas of Juncos, Cangrejeras of Santurce, and Leonas of Ponce all recorded victories in the Women’s Superior Volleyball League (LVSF by its initials in Spanish) on Friday night.

At Rafael G. Amalbert Coliseum in Juncos, the Valencianas came from behind to take two of the three available points, defeating defending champion Caguas in five sets.

Juncos forced the fifth set after dominating the fourth. With Caguas leading 2-1 in the match, the Valencianas opened the fourth set with an 8-3 advantage at the first technical timeout and extended their lead to 16-11 in the second, following a cross-court attack by Haley Bush in zone four.

The lead grew to 19-12 after a net violation by Alexandra Sczech, and Juncos secured the set at 23-15 with a spike by Kelly Sánchez from zone two. An ace by Allanis Orama sealed the 25-15 score, forcing a tiebreaker.

Juncos took a 9-3 lead in the fifth set, thanks to a quick attack by Orama from zone four. However, the Criollas responded with a 9-3 run of their own, including a successful spike by Génesis Collazo from zone two, to tie the set at 12.

After two more ties, the Valencianas withstood Caguas’ pressure and closed out the match 16-14 on points by Bush from zone four and Naya Gross attacking through the middle.

The set scores were 28-26, 16-25, 21-25, 25-15 and 16-14.

Bush led the Juncos offense with 26 points, followed by Orama with 18, Sánchez with 16 and Gross with 11.

Jenaisya Moore led Caguas with 26 points, while Sczech added 14 and Valeria Flores 11.

With the victory, fifth-place Juncos improved to 5-9 with 14 points, while the Criollas, despite the loss, earned a point to remain in second place with a 7-7 record and 23 points.

Santurce remains undefeated

At Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Hato Rey, the defending runners-up Cangrejeras remained undefeated after trouncing the Pinkin of Corozal in straight sets, 25-13, 25-18 and 25-13.

Santurce earned all three points and now boasts an 11-0 record with 30 points.

Despite failing to muster a point, Corozal held on to third place with a 7-6 record and 21 points.

Ponce prevails in Manatí

At Juan Aubín Cruz Coliseum in Manatí, the Leonas also won in three sets, defeating the host Atenienses with scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 25-22.

Ponce earned all three points and sits in fourth place with a 5-8 record and 15 points.

Manatí dropped into a fifth-place tie with Juncos at 4-9 with 14 points.