La Salle-Zobel and Canossa Academy-Lipa caught the last quarterfinal buses with big wins at the end of the 2024 Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-18 Championship elimination rounds on Friday, April 19, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Both squads carved out gritty three-set victories to get in with La Salle-Zobel earning a 25-20, 22-25, 25-19 win over Maryhill College Lucena (1-4) and Canossa Academy grinding out a 25-21, 23-25, 25-20 win over Parañaque City (0-5).
La Salle-Zobel finished at 2-3 for the No. 4 seed in Pool A as Canossa Academy clinched the last spot with a similar record in Pool B of the girls’ division.
Canossa Academy got a lift from La Salle-Lipa, which eliminated Colegio de Los Baños (1-4) with a 25-5, 25-10 win to ensure no playoff complications for the last ticket in Pool B.
La Salle-Lipa, for its part, secured the second seed in Pool B with a 4-1 slate just behind unbeaten National University (5-0). San Juan Institute of Technology-Batangas placed at No. 3 with a 3-2 record.
In Pool A, La Salle-Zobel joined fellow quarterfinalists University of Santo Tomas (5-0), Kings’ Montessori School (4-1) and Gracel Christian College (3-2), respectively.
But with little to no break, La Salle-Zobel and Canossa Academy face a daunting task against the unbeaten squads in the quarterfinals Saturday at the same venue.
La Salle-Zobel will have its hands full against fellow UAAP bet NU at 3 p.m. while Canossa Academy is drawn against another UAAP powerhouse in UST at 10 a.m.
Other pairings feature Kings’ Montessori School against San Juan Institute of Technology Batangas at 12:30 p.m., and La Salle-Lipa versus Gracel Christian College at 5:30 p.m.
Final rankings in the boys’ play are still being determined at press time as a regular five-setter format will be implemented starting in the quarterfinals from a short three-set duel in the elims.
The quarterfinals will be played in a knockout format, as well as the semifinals and the finals for the prestigious title of the first youth tourney of the PNVF headed by President Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
