Arellano shoots for No. 2 and lead

An Arellano side that its coach said after its debut is far from being in “four-peat” form, returns to the court on Thursday against Mapua, shooting for a second straight win and the solo lead in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Though coming off a straight-sets win against Lyceum last week, coach Obet Javier is far from convinced that his Lady Chiefs are in championship form.

“We really don’t acknowledge the pressure of a ‘four-peat’ and we’re just doing what we can for the school, but the way we’re playing right now is not worthy of a four-peat,” Javier said in Filipino after a 27-25, 25-20, 25-20 win where two-time finals MVP Regine Arocha led the Lady Chiefs with 18 points.Javier, though, remains upbeat that things will turn out well as the tournament plods along. “We’ll get to that level.”

Arocha, who said after the win over Lyceum that she would want to go out with a bang by winning another title, is again expected to lead Arellano with reigning MVP Necole Ebuen still recovering from surgery.

The Lady Chiefs and the Lady Cardinals collide at 2 p.m. after Jose Rizal and San Sebastian clash at 12 noon.