The Lady Altas got the win they needed, but their coach wasn’t happy. Perpetual Help swept De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, 25-19, 27-25, 25-21, on Saturday, September 19, to keep its semifinals hopes alive in the 2026 V-League Collegiate Challenge.

The University of Perpetual Help System DALTA controlled most of the match at Gameville Central Park. The Lady Blazers, their NCAA rivals, tried to mount a comeback. Perpetual wrapped up the crucial win in one hour and 17 minutes.

Perpetual Help Lady Altas Stay in Semifinals Race

Jem Menor delivered timely kills in the third set to help Perpetual close out the match. The victory moved the Lady Altas into a share of fourth place with the University of the East at 3-3. Both teams are still in the race for the semifinals.

The Lady Altas recovered from slow starts, and Menor led the charge with 13 points, all from kills. Cyrille Almeñiana added 14 points, 10 digs and nine excellent receptions. Collette Gaa provided steady play up front with 20 excellent sets and two points.

Perpetual will face the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Lady Knights on Saturday, September 26, at noon. That game is the Lady Altas’ final assignment of the preliminaries.

Sandy Rieta Wants More as Benilde Slips to 2-4

Longtime head coach Sandy Rieta said he told his players to keep fighting and to improve. He wanted them to study their opponents’ movement, not just play and enjoy the game.

“Medyo maganda naman siya, pero dahil marami pa ring errors, hindi pa rin ako masaya,” Rieta said. Roughly translated, the performance was decent, but the errors still kept him from being happy.

Cam Bartolome was the lone Benilde player in double figures with 13 points. It was not enough as the Lady Blazers slipped to 2-4.

Benilde will try to revive its fading semifinals hopes against the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses on Sunday, September 27, at 10 a.m. That game comes the day after Perpetual’s finale.