LAS PIÑAS CITY — The true mettle of the University of Perpetual Help shall be put to test on Sunday when the Lady Altas open their bid in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 101 women’s volleyball tournament against defending champion College of St. Benilde at the San Andres Gym in Malate, Manila.
Lady Altas coach Sandy Rieta has put together a solid lineup as the team aims to win its fourth women’s volleyball crown and end College of St. Benilde’s streak of four titles.
Rieta knows that winning the championship is easier said than done and the team needs to play well, starting on Sunday against the defending champs.
The tournament, however, opens on Friday at the San Andres Gym with St. Benilde and Mapua colliding at 12 p.m. and Letran and Arellano clashing at 2:30 p.m.
Lady Altas finished with a 9-9 win-loss record for 5th place last season and will be playing without Winnie Bedaña and Marian Andal, who are now in the professional league after completing their playing years in the NCAA.
This year, Rieta will lean on Charisse Enrico, Geraldine Palacio, Cyrille Almeniana, Jemalyn Menor, Shaila Omipon, Pauline Reyes, setter Fianne Ariola, libero Joanna Denis Lozano, Camille Bustamante, Loraine Lagmay and twins Nicollete and Nicole Gaa.
The team also includes rookies Liz Villanueva from Pampanga, Chelsea Atlas from Bulacan, Desiree Gecobe from Nueva Vizcaya, and Virginia Rosales from Cagayan de Oro.
For Season 101, the 10 member schools are divided into two groups (Group A and B).
Group A comprises of University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Mapua University, San Sebastian College-Recoletos and Jose Rizal University.
Group is composed of Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Arellano University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, San Beda University and Emilio Aguinaldo College.The new format, inaugurated during the men’s and juniors’ basketball tournaments, veers away from the long-standing tradition of a round robin template where each team plays one match against every other team.
Each team will now go up against teams in the group twice and teams from the other group once before final standings are determined. The top three teams in each group will be assured of a spot in the cross-over quarterfinals, while the fourth and fifth ranked teams are to contend for the last spot via the play-in round.
The first and second seeds will hold a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarters, while both the semifinals and finals will feature a best-of-three duel.