Romwel Anzures

Colegio de San Juan de Letran champion head coach Mayeth Carolino in the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball Finals. Angela Davocol/NCAA Philippines.

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<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775908051415IMG_4312.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Colegio de San Juan de Letran champion head coach Mayeth Carolino in the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball Finals. Angela Davocol/NCAA Philippines.MANILA — Twenty-eight years ago, Mayeth Carolino won her second straight NCAA women’s volleyball crown with Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Fast forward to the present, she is a champion once again.</div>It was a full-circle moment for the Lady Knights’ head coach as they took down four-time defending champion College of Saint Benilde in the Season 101 Finals, with Carolino admitting how nostalgic it was to relive the glory of her yesteryears.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/volleyball/2026/4/10/ncaa-letran-halts-benilde-s-reign-ends-28-year-women-s-volleyball-title-drought-2205">READ: Letran halts Benilde’s reign, ends 28-year women’s volleyball title drought</a></div>“Hindi ko ma-explain na natupad yung goal namin, na makuha yung championship na ‘to,” said the former NCAA Most Valuable Player (MVP) after they outlasted the Lady Blazers in five sets. “Nakita ko rin yung mga dating kasamahan ko, mga teammated ko.”The timing of Carolino’s return to Letran could not have been more fitting.Since her exit after Season 74 in 1998 when they took down San Sebastian College, the Lady Knights’ highest finish had been as runners-up, including back-to-back Finals losses to the Lady Blazers in Seasons 99 and 100 despite adding talents such as Vanessa Sarie and Gia Maquialang.Champion mentor Oliver Almadro even briefly took the helm for two years but fell short of delivering a title. Carolino, however, admitted that her own path to a crown in her return had its fair share of bumps.“Hindi ako talaga nakakatulog, lalo na kapag talo kami,” said Carolino, whose team also settled for bronze in the Luzon leg of the 2025 Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals after losses to Saint Benilde and Far Eastern University.Fortunately for the first-year Letran head coach — just like how her sister Michelle and her fellow Lady Knights did in the late ’90s — help came her way en route to the crown.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775908193155IMG_4304.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Colegio de San Juan de Letran‘s coaching staff in the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball Finals. Angela Davocol/NCAA Philippines.Aleksi Lähteenmäki of Finland, despite being only 22 years old, shared his expertise with Carolino — something the Filipina mentor credited as she took on the newest challenge of her career.</div>“Hindi ko ‘to kaya mag-isa talaga. Pero tinrabaho talaga namin hanggang dulo,” she said. “Inaalalayan nila ako, laging nandyan sila sa tabi ko. Hindi ko na-feel na mag-isa ako dito.”Letran’s collective effort proved effective, as the Lady Knights swept all 13 of their group phase assignments and lost only twice in a total of 20 games in Season 101.It also allowed Letran to fully unleash its potential, showing championship poise to finally solve the Saint Benilde puzzle, capping the Finals with three straight points in the fifth set from a 12-all deadlock.“Lahat sila, kahit sinong ipasok, dapat no mercy, so dapat lahat sila ready,” said Carolino, who was also hailed as Coach of the Year.The Lady Knights will now enter the next NCAA season in unfamiliar territory as defending champions and could even be without Finals MVP Judiel Nitura, who is already considering a move to the professional ranks.However, Carolino remains confident that the best is yet to come for Letran, expressing optimism that it will not take another 28 years to bring a championship back to Intramuros.“Hopefully po. Siyempre gusto naming ituloy-tuloy ito. Sana start pa lang ‘to,” she said. “Hindi kami pwedeng mag-relax. So tuloy-tuloy lang kami, at kung kailangan pa naming magdagdag ng tao, gagawin din namin ’yun.”

It was 28 years ago when Mayeth Carolino won her second straight NCAA women’s volleyball crown with Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and fast forward to the present, she is a champion once again.

It was 28 years ago when Mayeth Carolino won her second straight NCAA women’s volleyball crown with Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and fast forward to the present, she is a champion once again.

28 years in the making: Carolino comes full circle with glory for Letran

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28 years in the making: Carolino comes full circle with glory for Letran

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 11, 2026 08:29 PM PHT

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Volleyball

NCAA

ABSSports

NCAA Season 101

NCAA Volleyball

NCAA Finals

Mayeth Carolino

Letran Lady Knights

Benilde Lady Blazers

Letran

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