De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde remained atop of the NCAA Season 98 women's volleyball tournament and the Taft crew mostly has seasoned spiker Gayle Pascual to thank for it.
With the third-year opposite hitter leading the way, the Lady Blazers were able to kick off their week with a convincing sweep of erstwhile undefeated University of Perpetual Help System DALTA to end the Lady ALTAs' three-game win streak last Tuesday.
They then went on to get the last laugh over the feisty Lyceum of the Philippines squad that pushed them to a tight five-set affair on Saturday to move up to 5-0 in the ladder.
In both games, the veteran opposite hitter delivered from both ends. In their 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 win over Perpetual, Pascual shone for Benilde, delivering 22 points off 20 attacks and two blocks.
Meanwhile, in Benilde's 22-25, 25-16, 16-25, 25-13, 15-9 escape over Lyceum, Pascual's offensive production of 20 points helped them extend their winning run to 23 games, dating from Season 95.
With her reliable showing for the streaking Lady Blazers, Pascual was named the Collegiate Press Corps NCAA Player of the Week presented by San Miguel Corporation and Philippine Sports Commission with MNL Kingpin, Tinapayan Festival, and Jockey as minor sponsors.
Pascual edged out teammate Jade Gentapa, Mapua University's Roxie dela Cruz, Colegio de San Juan de Letran's Judiel Nitura, and Emilio Aguinaldo College's Cath Almazan for the weekly award.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News
