BY ABBY TORALBA
DEFENDING champion College of St. Benilde whipped Emilio Aguinaldo College 25-17, 25-20, 25-8 yesterday and gained a piece of the early lead in the 98th NCAA women’s volleyball tournament at the San Andres Sports Complex.
Jade Gentapa shone for the Taft-based squad with 13 points, while Cristy Ondangan and Gayle Pascual fired nine and eight markers, respectively.
The Lady Blazers rose to 2-0, while the Lady Generals dropped to 0-2 after the duel that lasted for only an hour and 15 minutes.
“We try to instill na walang complacency, we try to instill na parang back to zero. Wala namang nakakalamang ngayon, lahat tayo nakakapag-practice ng mahaba so ayun pagandahan ng execution and then pantay lang tayong lahat,” CSB coach Jerry Yee said.
“So hindi puwedeng magre-relax lang tayo so laban ng laban ng laban,” he added.
Earlier, Arellano University eked out a 25-11, 27-25, 25-7, 25-12 triumph over San Beda University to also go 2-0.
Laika Tudlasan sparked the offense of the Lady Chiefs with 15 points, while setter Donnalyn Paralejas tossed 15 excellent sets and nine markers.
Pauline De Guzman and Marianne Padillon contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Risa Batindaan added 11 markers for Arellano.
Chynna Castillo was the lone bright spot for the Lady Red Spikers with 11 points.
San Beda slipped to 0-2.
