PERPETUAL Help and College of St. Benilde face off as the stepladder semifinals of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament begins on Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Lady Altas finished third with a 7-2 win-loss card and the Lady Blazers wound up fourth at 6-3.
They face off at 4 p.m., with the winner taking on the Arellano University Lady Chiefs, the reigning champions who finished at No. 2 with an 8-1 slate, in another knockout duel on Thursday.
San Sebastian made it straight to the finals after sweeping the elimination round with nine wins, clinching a thrice-to-beat advantage.
"It's do-or-die for us from here on," said Perpetual Help coach Sammy Acaylar, who is seeking to steer the Las Pinas-based school back in the finals since making it that far and winning it all two seasons ago.
In men's play, defending champion Emilio Aguinaldo and Perpetual Help collide for the top seeding while San Beda and Arellano face off for the last spot in the semifinals.
The Generals and the Altas finished tied for first with 8-1 marks and the winner of the playoff will face the winner of the San Beda-Arellano sudden death.
The loser takes on No. 3 St. Benilde (7-2) in the other semis pairing.
The juniors have a similar scenario with Perpetual and EAC battling for the No. 1 seed and San Sebastian and Lyceum squaring off for the last semis berth.
The Junior Altas and the Brigadiers each ended up with a league-best 6-1 record while the Staglets and the Junior Pirates wound up knotted at No. 4 at 4-3.