New Titans

Perpetual Help was looking for a win to jack up its NCAA women’s volleyball campaign.

On Wednesday, the Lady Altas found what it was looking for—and more.

Perpetual inflicted on three-time champ Arellano its first defeat, exacted revenge on last year’s conquerors in the finals, and gained a dramatic inroad to the semifinals with its fifth consecutive victory.

“It’s about time we enter the Final Four with a twice-to-beat advantage,” Perpetual coach Macky Carino said in Filipino. “We want to experience entering the semifinals as favorites.”

It’s still far down the road, of course, as the Lady Altas would need two more wins to make it to the semifinals outright and a lot more has to happen for them to nail one of the top berths that carry a Final Four shield.

But for Carino, beating the fearsome Lady Chiefs should bolster the team’s morale and send across a message that the Lady Altas are a force to be reckoned with after tying their victims at 5-1.

St. Benilde, which plays San Beda on Thursday, is the last remaining undefeated squad in the tournament.

“Who doesn’t want to beat the defending champions?” Carino said after their thrilling 22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-12, 16-14 triumph at Filoil Flying V Centre on Wednesday.

His wards prepared long and hard against the Lady Chiefs, according to Carino—and not just physically.

“Monday (after beating Jose Rizal) we started preparing, then we watched videos of their games Tuesday morning and practiced in the afternoon, same as our game time today,” Carino said.

As a result, Perpetual got its mental toughness and its blocking honed to deadly sharpness—foiling Arellano’s attempts 81 times, scoring 12.

While Perpetual’s defense made things miserable for Arellano hitters Regine Arocha and Necole Ebuen, top Lady Altas found their scoring groove with Jhona Rosal, Jenny Gaviola and Dana Persa combining for 47 points.

Gaviola accounted for seven kill-blocks, while Charina Scott scored four, two on blocks.

In another game, Letran posted its second win in four games after a 27-25, 25-14, 25-16 rout of Mapua (1-3).