De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde sealed its Final Four ticket after sweeping rival Arellano University, 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 in their finals rematch in the NCAA Season 98 women's volleyball tournament on Wednesday.
The defending champions remained undefeated at 8-0 while Arellano slipped to 4-3 to fall out of the top four as Perpetual, Lyceum, and Mapua currently occupy the second, third, and fourth spots with a few games left in the elimination round.
After a dominant opening set win, the Lady Blazers had to work their way in the ensuing sets with the Lady Chiefs tying the game at 21-21 before the Taft squad unleashed a 4-0 run to end the second set and get a 2-0 set lead.
Benilde found itself in a similar situation in the third set with Arellano leading early, 8-4, but the tandem of Jade Gentapa and Gayle Pascual continued to show yet another masterful performances as the former sent the Lady Blazers to a 14-13 lead.
Tied again at 15, Benilde exploded for a 7-2 rampage led by Pascual, Gentapa, and Cloanne Mondoñedo as they took a crucial 22-17 cushion. But the Lady Chiefs tried to mount a mini rally with Janice Manuntag and Robbie Matawaran drilling two points for the side of Arellano.
Mondoñedo, known to be an attacking setter, soared from the opposite side to bring Benilde to the match point before Gentapa put the punctuation with a hammer of her own.
Gentapa scattered 21 points built on 19 attacks and two blocks while Pascual contributed 17 markers alongside 10 digs.
No player scored in double digits for Arellano as Marianne Padillo and Matawaran were the bright spots for the former three-time champions with their eight and seven points each.
Benilde will look to finish the elimination round with a clean slate as it goes up against Jose Rizal University on Sunday while Arellano will try to bounce back on Saturday against Colegio de San Juan de Letran in bid to make the Final Four.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
