College of Saint Benilde overcame shaky moments and defeated Arellano University, 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16, to close its 2025 V-League Collegiate Challenge preliminaries on a high note, Monday at the FilOil Ecooil Centre in San Juan.
In other games, National University closed its rollercoaster run on a winning note, rallying past Letran, 12-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-23, while Far Eastern University asserted its dominance down the stretch to fend off University of Perpetual Help System DALTA’s upset bid, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18, 25-11.
The Lady Tamaraws secured the No. 2 seed heading into the semifinals with a 6-1 card, just ahead of the College of Saint Benilde Lady Blazers, who finished at 5-2—all thanks to FEU’s strong finishing kick in the third and fourth sets.
In front of their seniors and Alas Pilipinas members Michaelo Buddin, Peng Taguibolos, Jade Disquitado, and Leo Ordiales, the younger Bulldogs leaned on the inspired play of Joelbert Doromal and Luke Macatangay in the fourth set to seal the match in one hour and 29 minutes.
NU wrapped up the preliminaries with a 3-4 record, good for fifth place, while the Knights finished seventh at 2-5.
With the third set hanging in the balance and Arellano holding a slight 16-14 edge, Benilde’s seasoned seniors turned the tide, eventually taking a 2-1 lead in sets.
Setter Chanae Basarte connected with Rhea Densing and Clydel Catarig during the crucial stretches of that pivotal third set, helping the Lady Blazers gain momentum to close the match in four sets after one hour and 43 minutes.
Clydel Catarig was on point throughout the match, contributing 16 points off the bench, including 12 attacks, four blocks, and one service ace. Meanwhile, Rhea Densing and Zam Nolasco added 11 points each to bolster the Lady Blazers’ effort.
Regardless of the outcome of the FEU-Perpetual match, Benilde is set to face FEU in a best-of-three semifinals series starting Wednesday at the same San Juan venue.
Arellano, meanwhile, will await the result of that contest.
A Lady Tamaraws win would set the Lady Chiefs up against the Adamson University Lady Falcons in the semifinals, while a Lady Altas victory would give Perpetual the last semis spot.
Cris Servidad led all scorers with 19 points, coming from 15 attacks, one block, and three service aces, but it was not enough to secure Arellano an outright passage into the knockout round.
