MANILA, Philippines – Perpetual Help and College of St. Benilde routed their respective opponents Thursday to jump into a three-way tie at first with defending champion Emilio Aguinaldo in the 91st NCAA men's volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Altas smashed the Mapua Cardinals, 25-13, 25-22, 25-19, while the Blazers smothered the Letran Knights, 25-23, 25-23, 25-17, to join the Generals at the helm with identical 2-0 (win-loss) records.
Allan Jay Sala-An spearheaded the Las Pinas-based spikers with 12 hits while Johnvic de Guzman unloaded 17, including 16 on kills, to lead the way for the St. Benilde, which finished second to EAC a season ago.
In women's action, the Lady Blazers slammed the Letran Lady Knights, 25-17, 25-21, 25-8, to join the San Sebastian Lady Stags on top with two wins apiece.
The Lady Altas bounced back from a 21-25, 23-25, 24-26 defeat to the Lady Stags with a 25-12, 25-21, 25-21 triumph over the Mapua Lady Cardinals.
In seniors football, St. Benilde walloped Perpetual Help, 7-0, to jumpstart its campaign at the Rizal Memorial Football field.