Saint Benilde takes Season 97 NCAA crown with perfect season

IT was an impressive win for College of Saint Benilde (CSB) as proved too big and too strong to dominate Arellano University (AU) to complete an 11-0 sweep of Season 97 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) volleyball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

CSB’s most valuable player (MVP) pick Mycah Go provided the much-needed leadership on the floor to give Saint Benilde the 26-24, 25-12, 25-9 victory that served its second NCAA volley crown since 2016.

The Lady Blazers completed Arellano’s rout in one hour and 13 minutes of steaming action and thus duplicate the rare sweep that Perpetual Help System Dalta achieved in 2012. But volleyball fans said Saint Benilde’s latest triumph was actually long overdue since just before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Lady Blazers were sporting a 7-0 record and really was on course for to sweep the opposition.

Owing to the lockdown triggered by the pandemic, CSB’s title run had to be put on hold.

Still, on the tournament’s comeback, Saint Benilde sparkled in every facet of the game, scoring 36 attacks and dominating in kill blocks (12-2) and aces (6-1). Leading the charge for the Lady Blazers was Finals MVP Gayle Pascual, who drilled in 10 of his 14 points from the attack zone while Clone Mondonedo tossed 12 excellent sets.

Meanwhile, Jade Gentapa was efficient on both offense and defense for Saint Benilde, adding 11 markers to go with 10 digs and five receptions.

Lady Blazers mentor Jerry Yee, who was also awarded as the Coach of the Year, was ecstatic after winning his first title in the collegiate level.

“I’m happy and thankful for the award. I’m just happy we managed to finish the season,” Yee, who has been with Saint Benilde since 2018, enthused after the final game that gave them the crown.

“There were some factors that affected our mind games but throughout the match, the players (we)re calm,” he shared to credit his team’s sterling performance.