Arellano nears volley crown

Working behind a balanced attack, Arellano inched closer to a first NCAA women’s volleyball crown with a 25-18, 25-15, 20-25, 25-19 walloping of San Sebastian yesterday in Game 1 of their best-of-three championship series at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Danna Henson fired 18 hits to lead five Arellano players with at least nine points as the Lady Chiefs kept their fiery form to complete the victory in an hour and 43 minutes.

The trio of Cristine Joy Rosario, Menchie Tubiera and Railen Sante also dished out solid games for the Lady Chiefs, who overwhelmed the Lady Stags with 54 points off attacks.

Blocking also proved key for Arellano, which enjoyed a 9-4 edge in that department. The Lady Chiefs made life difficult for top San Sebastian star Gretchel Soltones, who had just 17 hits in 77 attempts. Henson, in contrast, got 15 points off attacks in just 47 attempts.

Earlier, Perpetual Help continued its dominance over Lyceum with a quick, merciless 25-19, 25-19, 25-11 to also move within a victory of the juniors’ crown.

The Junior Altas attack clicked early on while putting the clamps on the Junior Pirates’ hitters to come away with the win in just 58 minutes.

The Las Piñas-based spikers can wrap up the crown with another triumph in Game Two tomorrow.

Malden Dildil led all hitters with 14, 10 on kills and the rest on blocks while Vincent Recamara scattered 11 and 10 hits, respectively, to lift Perpetual to another convincing win after subduing the same Lyceum side, 25-18, 25-16, 25-19, that lasted only 54 minutes in their semis meeting on Jan. 9.