College of St. Benilde launched its three-peat bid on high note, scoring a convincing 25-15, 25-14, 25-23 victory over Emilio Aguinaldo College yesterday in NCAA Season 99 women’s volleyball at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.
Except for the third set, the Lady Blazers were simply overpowering, coming through with variety of combinations to nail their first win of the season that extended their winning run to 30 game, including a couple of 11-game title sweeps the last two seasons.
They were put to an acid test though in the third set when the Lady Generals seized a 21-19 edge but the back-to-back champions regrouped and went on a rampage anew, winning six of the last seven points that sealed the deal.
Michelle Gamit paced CSB with 10 points while Jade Gentapa and Gayle Pascual chipped in eight hits apice.
The game also saw the return of former skipper and league MVP Mycah Go from various knee injuries that sidelined her for more than a year.
In the men’s section earlier, EAC turned back CSB, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12, to set in motion its bid to replicate, if not surpass, its Final Four finish a season ago.
Jan Ruther Abor came off the bench and unleashed a 26-point performance he laced with 25 booming kills while Marvin Williams Romero and captain Kenneth Batiancila chipped in 16 and 11 hits, respectively.
