University of the Philippines and St. Benilde try to recover from setbacks at each other’s expense as they tangle today (Wednesday) in a crucial lone women’s match in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Collegiate Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
The Lady Maroons dropped a sorry defeat to the Far Eastern U side last Sunday, blowing a 2-1 set lead and losing in the decider, 6-15. Though they remained at fourth at 2-2, the loss enabled St. Benilde and idle San Beda U to stay in the hunt for the last semifinal berth despite their identical 1-3 slates.
The Taft-based squad is also coming off a loss, bowing to unbeaten UST in three but the Lady Blazers will surely be going flat out to topple the Lady Maroons and fuel their own Final Four drive in the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa and Asics.
That should make their 4 p.m. match worth watching with Isa Molde, Marian Buitre, Anne Magsarile, Aieshalaine Gannaban, Lorielyn Bernardo and Ma. Arielle Estranero vowing to raise the level of their games in anticipation of the Lady Blazers’ strong challenge.
UP is also hoping to sustain its roller-coaster start that saw the Lady Maroons go win-loss-win-loss in their first four matches.
But the Lady Blazers are so focused on this particular game that would keep them or out of the semis race. Marites Pablo, ranked fourth in scoring, is also expected to come out strong along with Klarisa Abriam, Arianne Daguil, Anne Umali and Michelle Gamit.
UST (5-0), Adamson (4-0) and Far Eastern U (4-1) are cinch to clinch the first three semis seats with the last spot a toss-up among UP, St. Benilde and San Beda with Perpetual Help (1-4) hoping to keep its flickering hopes with a sweep of its last three matches and hope that the three other contenders won’t go over three wins.
Meanwhile, semifinalists National U and UST seek to extend their win run to six as they take La Salle and San Beda, respectively, in men’s action. The Bulldogs take on the Archers (1-4) at 9 a.m. while the Tigers square off with the Red Spikers at 6 p.m.
In other matches, FEU (2-3) collides with Arellano U (0-5) at 11 a.m. while UP and St. Benilde, toting identical 3-2, mix it up at 1 p.m.