After settling for third place in 2024 and second place last year, the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers finally climbed to the top of the Palarong Atenista 2026 women’s volleyball tournament, dispatching the Business and Management (B&M) Vipers in straight sets, 3-0.

The SEA Tigers set the tone in the first set, pulling ahead of the B&M Vipers to take it at 25-18.

In the second set, the Tigers kept their momentum against the Vipers’ resistance, closing it out at 25-20 to move one set away from the title.

The B&M Vipers pushed back in the third set to extend the match, but the SEA Tigers held their composure down the stretch to close out the match at 25-23.

SEA Tigers’ team captain Ronice Leanne Kate V. Balladares said the win carried special meaning for her, as she had been chasing the title since the team’s bronze finish in her first year, followed by another near miss in last year’s final.

“As the team captain, I am treasuring it a lot, because in 2024 we placed bronze, then last year was silver, and this year all of our hard work finally paid off,” she said.

Balladares also pointed to conflicting class schedules among teammates as the team’s biggest challenge in their preparation.

“The challenge was the schedule of our teammates, because we have different schedules, but thankfully it paid off through the championship,” she added.

She dedicated the victory to the team’s graduated seniors, who still made time to watch the championship match, as well as to the SEA Tiger community.

“To our seniors, because even until now, they really made time today to support us despite them already graduated, and to our SEA Tiger community, thank you for the support.”

Settling for silver were the B&M Vipers, while last year’s bronze medalists, the School of Nursing (SON) Panthers, defended their bronze title.

The women’s volleyball championship game was held at the 7F Martin Hall last October 14.