Defending champion Immaculada Concepcion College completed a seven-game sweep of the women’s division, while Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas topped the men’s side at the end of the elimination round of the PGFlex Linoleum-UCAL Season 9 Volleyball Championships at the University of Batangas Millennium Gym in Batangas City.
With Graciella Joanna Libre leading the way, the ICC Lady Blue Hawks swept the Olivarez College Lady Sea Lions, 25-13, 25-18, 25-16, extending their winning streak to 17 games since capturing last season’s title via a grand sweep.
By topping the elimination round, ICC secured an outright berth in the semifinals, joining the University of Batangas Lady Brahmans, who claimed the other automatic slot after finishing second with a 6-1 record.
Third-seeded Philippine Christian University-Dasmarinas will face sixth-seeded LPU-B Lady Pirates in a knockout match, with the winner advancing to face the Lady Brahmans in the semifinals. Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Centro Escolar University (4-3) and fifth-seeded Philippine Women’s University (4-4) will battle for the remaining quarterfinal berth, with the winner taking on the Lady Blue Hawks.
The semifinals will be played in a single-game format.
Olivarez College and Manila Central University finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the women’s standings, with 1-6 and 0-7 records.
Meanwhile, the LPU-B Pirates overcame an opening-set setback to defeat the PCU-D Dolphins, 24-26, 25-20, 25-14, 25-20, and finished the elimination round tied with defending champion UB Brahmans and ICC Blue Hawks at 7-1.
LPU-B and ICC secured the two automatic semifinal berths after collecting 22 and 20 points, respectively.
The Brahmans settled for third place with 18 points and will face sixth-seeded Centro Escolar University Scorpions in the quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded PCU-D (5-3) will take on fifth-seeded Manila Central University (3-5) in the other quarterfinal matchup, with the winner advancing to face the Pirates.
LPU-B claimed the top seed by virtue of its 3-0 victory over UB during the tournament, which is backed by Smart, PusoP.com, Hapee Toothpaste, Mighty Bond, Spalding, Maruyama, Gerry’s Grill, Crane, Vital Purified Water, and Akari.
Diliman College finished seventh with a 2-6 record, matching PWU’s win-loss tally. The Sea Lions, meanwhile, wound up eighth and last after dropping all eight of their matches.
