Former NCAA players Cherry Quizon of San Beda University and Matet Pablo of College of St. Benilde emerged as the first round leaders in the 96th NCAA volleyball All-Star Spiking Challenge held last Saturday at the Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City.
The two were allowed to play once again for their respective schools despite not being part of the current team as the COVID-19 pandemic kept them away from volleyball since last year.
Quizon was the faster one, as the Lady Red Spikers pioneer converted on her second attempt, while Pablo, one of the Lady Blazers' vital cogs in last season's campaign, made it on her ninth and final attempt.
"I felt nervous," said Quizon, who was once a teammate of San Beda stars Janine Marciano and Ces Molina. "I had a hard time na tumalon because it has been a while and with the timing of the ball."
"Nakakaba at nakakapagod," said Pablo, the younger sister of now pro Myla.
University of Perpetual Help System Dalta's Yanca Tripoli and Jose Rizal University's Angela Bondoc, on the other hand, failed to score a point.
In the spiking competition, there are three targets on the court and each player is given three balls to spike inside each target.
The player will declare starting position and intended target sequence, where a hit target gets one point.
GTV 11 of GMA, the new broadcast partner of the NCAA, televised the first round.