San Sebastian whips Letran, nears elims sweep

MANILA, Philippines – San Sebastian clobbered Letran, 25-11, 25-17, 25-15, on Tuesday to move two wins closer to an elimination round sweep in the women's division of the 91st NCAA volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Soltones, the reigning league MVP, led the way with 13 hits as the Lady Stags posted their seventh straight win, or just two victories away from sweeping their way to the finals where they will enjoy a "thrice-to-beat" advantage.

The volleyball competition is using a new format similar to basketball wherein the top four teams after single-round elimination will advance to the Final Four where in the Nos. 1 and 2 teams enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage against the Nos. 4 and 3 squads, respectively.

A sweep, however, will catapult the sweeper straight to the finals where it will enjoy a 1-0 edge in a best-of-five series while sending the next three teams into a stepladder semifinals.

And that's what San Sebastian is aiming for as it seeks for two more triumphs against Lyceum of the Phl U on Friday and St. Benilde on Sunday.

"Yes, we're hoping to sweep but it will not be easy," said San Sebastian coach Roger Gorayeb, who is coming off an impressive 2015 after being named national women's team coach and winning a rare Grand Slam in the Shakey's V-League.

Defending champion Arellano U is currently at No. 2 with a 6-1 (win-loss) record while St. Benilde and Perpetual Help are at Nos. 3 and 4 with 5-1 and 4-2 slates.

In men's play, San Sebastian bested Letran, 18-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23, to improve to a 3-4 mark.