San Beda University star Cherry Quizon and College of St. Benilde mainstay Matet Pablo shared the top honors in the 96th NCAA volleyball All-Star Spiking Challenge last Saturday at Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City.
Both are former student players of the two schools but they were given the opportunity to play for their alma mater, something they failed to do as volleyball players last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The format of the spiking competition is that each participant has three targets, and a player will declare a starting spot and intended target sequence, where a hit target gets one point.
Each player is given three balls to spike inside each target.
Quizon and Pablo finished tied at 1-0 after Day one of the competition, which was televised on channel GTV 11 of GMA, the league’s new broadcast partner beginning this Season 96 under host school Letran.
Quizon was the faster one to get the point as the Lady Red Spikers pioneer converted on her second attempt, while Pablo, one of the Lady Blazers' vital cogs in last season's campaign, made it on her ninth and final attempt.
“I felt nervous. I actually had a hard time na tumalon because it has been a while and with the timing of the ball,” said Quizon, who was once a teammate of San Beda stars Janine Marciano and Ces Molina.
“Nakakaba at nakakapagod,” said Pablo, the younger sister of now pro Myla.
University of Perpetual Help System DALTA's Yanca Tripoli and Jose Rizal University's Angela Bondoc, on the other hand, failed to score a point in the first round of the event.
The volleyball exhibition is part of the events for NCAA Season 96, which already finished with the taekwondo online meet featuring poomsae and speed kicking, as well as online chess.
After volleyball, basketball exhibition is next.