The Benilde Lady Blazers and Arellano Lady Chiefs rose to the occasion on Tuesday, carving out pivotal victories at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym to fortify their campaigns in the high-stakes stretch of the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball tournament.
Benilde Avoids Reverse Sweep from San Sebastian
The Benilde Lady Blazers displayed nerves of steel in crunch time and repelled the San Sebastian Lady Stags in five sets, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 25-13, 15-5.
The Lady Blazers drew first blood in a tight opening set, but the Lady Stags gradually found their rhythm. After splitting the first two frames, San Sebastian seized a 2-1 lead when Juna May Gonzales and Kath Santos combined to break a 22-all stalemate to snatch the third set, 25-23, and put the four-time defending champions on the brink.
Benilde responded with poise honed by experience. The Lady Blazers roared to an 8-0 start in the fourth and never relented, with Zam Nolasco’s quick strike stretching the gap to 18-10 before Cristy Ondangan and Clydel Catarig slammed the door to force a decider.
The Lady Stags stayed within striking distance early in the fifth after Tina Marasigan trimmed the deficit to 4-3. But Benilde unleashed a telling 5-0 burst fueled by three straight attacks from Nolasco and capped by a Shekaina Lleses finish to build a 9-3 cushion. Ondangan sealed the victory with consecutive running hits.
Nolasco powered the Lady Blazers with 28 points, while Catarig added 20. Lleses tallied 15 points and 24 receptions, while Camila Bartolome chipped in 13. With the win, Benilde improved to 8-3 and secured a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals. On the other hand, Gonzales paced San Sebastian with 27 in the loss.
Arellano Pulls Out Reverse Sweep on San Beda
The Arellano Lady Chiefs displayed resilience and depth, storming back from two sets down to stun San Beda University, 22-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-17, 15-12.
The Lady Red Spikers dictated the early tempo and appeared poised for a straight-sets win after claiming the first two frames. Even in the third, San Beda erased a five-point deficit to force a 24-all deadlock, threatening to complete the sweep. But Arellano held firm, with Kheisha Abitria delivering the crucial points to extend the match.
Buoyed by that escape, the Lady Chiefs seized control in the fourth set, racing to a 16-10 cushion and keeping the pressure on to force a fifth set.
The fifth set unfolded as a tight exchange, with neither side gaining clear separation. Locked at 11-all, San Beda faltered with back-to-back errors, allowing Arellano to grab a slim advantage. Heart Villaflores then hammered a decisive hit from the left before a net touch violation on Angel Habacon sealed the turnaround.
Sam Tiratira led with 15 points on 7 blocks, while Cassey Florida and Moming Padillon added 14 apiece. Abitria chipped in 11 markers as the Lady Chiefs improved to 5-6 in Group B.
Habacon paced San Beda with 21 points, while Janelle Bachar had 19 in the loss that dropped the Lady Red Spikers to 9-3.
