Now 13-0, La Salle volleybelles secure top seeding in Final Four

Stephanie Mercado scored 13 hits, four service aces and a block as defending women’s champion La Salle moved within a win of the sweeping the preliminaries of the 72nd UAAP Volleyball Tournament Wednesday at the Arena in San Juan. Mercado, the league’s third-best scorer and spiker, led the Lady Archers to their 13th straight victory at the expense of University of the East, 25-10, 25-14, 25-20, a win that assured the Taft-based squad of the No. 1 seeding in the Final Four.

“Parang ngayon lang nag-sink in sa amin na puwede at kaya pala naming maka-sweep. But still we have to face and beat UST (in the last day of eliminations) para makumpleto ang sweep. At hindi naman natin maitatanggi na mabigat talagang kalaban ang UST, so we have to prepare hard for them," said La Salle mentor Ramil de Jesus. The Lady Archers and the Tigresses (11-2) will meet on Sunday-February 14 at the end of the double round eliminations. But even if the Lady Archers loss, they will still take the no.1 seeding going into the next round. In the other women’s match, Adamson University gained a share of third spot with Ateneo as the Lady Falcons beat Far Eastern University, 25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-9. It was the Lady Falcons’ ninth win in 13 games, the same card as the Lady Eagles. Paulina Soriano scored 17 hits and a block to take the cudgels for the Lady Falcons while Angela Benting and Angeloca Quinlog contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively. The loss dropped the Lady Warriors to 0-12 while the Lady Tamaraws slipped to 5-8. - GMANews.TV