BY ABBY TORALBA
DEFENDING two-time champion College of St. Benilde nipped hard-fighting Lyceum 21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 15-7 yesterday to complete an eliminations sweep and gain an outright finals slot in the 99th NCAA women’s volleyball tournament The Arena in San Juan.
It was the Lady Blazers’ 38th straight triumph that they laced with a couple of 11-match championship sweeps the past two years.
They have a chance to make it a three-peat sweep feat as they await their finals foe in the best-of-three finals set May 19.
“Hindi naman iyon nakakasawa, pinipilit natin at gigil tayo makuha iyon, iyon naman goal,” CSB coach Jerry Yee said.
Gayle Pascual went on attack mode and fired a tea-best 21 points, including crucial kills in the deciding set while Cloanne Mondonedo provided the stability, bucking a tweaked ankle in the third set in dishing out 20 excellent sets while chipping in two hits.
The Lady Pirates slipped to 6-3.
Johna Dolorito tallied 24 markers, 10 digs and eight excellent receptions for Lyceum, while Joan Doguna had 17 points. Jaja Tulang had 12 for the Lady Pirates.
Earlier, Perpetual Lady Altas bolstered its Final Four bid with a 25-16, 25-19, 20-25, 16-25 win over the also-ran Emilio Aguinaldo College Lady Generals.
Perpetual recovered from a previous loss to CSB, with Shaila Omipon showing the way with 16 points and five digs, while skipper Razel Aldea and Mary Rhose Dapol combined 21 markers.
The Las Pinas-based crew improved to 5-4 and kept its semifinals hopes alive.
