King’s Montessori School beat De La Salle-Zobel A, 25-16, 29-27, to clinch a quarterfinals seat in the 2025 Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 Saturday at the La Salle Green Hills Gym.
The Lady Vikings finished the preliminary round with three straight wins after four starts in Pool C to advance into the knockout round of the country’s biggest grassroots volleyball league backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner and R and B Milk Tea.
Paula Palma played clutch in the extended second set, pouring 11 of her game-high 18 points – all from kills – as KMS pulled through despite surrendering 19 points to the Lady Junior Archers.
Venice Escote and Sharina Lleses added eight and seven points each for the Lady Vikings, who will wait for their final pool ranking and quarters opponent.
If KMS ends up on top of Pool C, it will face the second-ranked team in Pool B. However, if the Lady Vikings slipped to No. 2, they’ll take on Pool A’s top seed. DLS-Z A dropped to a 1-1 card despite the 12-point effort of Aislinn Alemana.
Also in Pool C, Arellano University came back from a set down to shock California Academy, 20-25, 27-25, 25-11, to preserve its unbeaten record after two outings.
Samantha Maranan showed the way with a monster performance of 22 points anchored on 19 attacks and three kill blocks while Catherine Chu added 11 markers as the Lady Braves bolstered their bid for a quarters berth in the tournament backed by Mikasa, Asics, Team Rebel Sports, Belo Deo and Smart.
The Cal Babies, who ruled the inaugural 2023 edition, bounced back in their afternoon run and vented their ire on Corpus Christi School, 25-22, 25-21, behind Mhonnieck Soliven’s 15-point explosion for their first win after three tries.
The Cagayan de Oro-based Lady Knights absorbed their third loss in as many games.
On the other hand, Emilio Aguinaldo College scored a walkover win over no-show University of Perpetual Help System Dalta for a 3-0 card while defending champion Adamson University demolished Lyceum of the Philippines University, 25-18, 25-14, for a 2-1 slate in the Pool A pairings.
In Pool D, St. John’s Institute-Bacolod arrested a two-game slide at the expense of winless University of the Philippines Integrated School, 25-16, 25-22, for a 1-2 card.
In Division 2 action, Everest International Academy defeated Assumption College-San Lorenzo, 25-7, 25-16, in Pool E for its second win in three games.
Assumption-Antipolo swept St. Theresa-QC, 25-23, 25-21, while Immaculate Conception Academy downed St. Paul-Pasig, 25-9, 25-13 in Pool F.
SGVIL games are available live and on-demand via Puso Pilipinas and Solar Sports.
