Volley duel crucial for UP, St. Benilde

Standings UST 5-0, AdU-4-0, FEU 4-1, UP 2-2, SBU 1-3, CSB 1-3, UPHSD 1-4, SSC-R 0-5.

Games today 9 a.m. – National U vs La Salle (men’s) 11 a.m. – FEU vs Arellano (men’s) 1 p.m. – St. Benilde vs UP (men’s) 4 p.m. – UP vs St. Benilde (women’s) 6 p.m. – San Beda vs UST (men’s)

University of the Philippines and St. Benilde try to recover from setbacks at each other’s expense as they tangle today in the 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.

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 rollercoaster 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, which would keep them in the race or out of the semis.

Marites Pablo, ranked fourth in scoring, is also expected to come out strong along with Klarisa Abriam, Arianne Daguil, Anne Umali and Michelle Gamit.