Games on Saturday:

(UST Quadricentennial Pavilion)

9 a.m. — Ateneo vs UE (m)

11 a.m. — Ateneo vs UE (w)

3 p.m. — Adamson vs FEU (m)

5 p.m. — Adamson vs FEU (w)

Now, just one team remains standing in the way of unbeaten De La Salle University’s outright entry to the finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament.

The Lady Spikers stormed to their 13th straight win with a clinical 25-20, 25-18, 25-15, dismantling of listless University of the East (UE) on Wednesday at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Flexing its dominance right from the opening serve, La Salle had a short one-hour, 24-minute workout to draw closer to its first elimination round sweep since achieving the feat in 2014. Once reached, the Lady Spikers will secure an outright best-of-three championship berth and trigger a stepladder semifinals.

Veteran wingers Angel Canino and Shevana Laput led the Lady Spikers’ relentless assault to build momentum heading into the much-anticipated rematch against three-peat-seeking National University (NU) on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena — a game that will decide if there will be a regular Final Four or a stepladder semifinals.

“The pressure is always there. The pressure to win but coach (Ramil de Jesus) constantly reminds the team that it’s just a score and number. Stay focused on what’s in front of you, which is now NU, take it one game at a time. Hopefully, we’ll be able to perform well against NU,” La Salle assistant coach Gian de Jesus said.

Canino scored all of her 12 points on kills while adding 10 digs and seven excellent receptions in an all-around performance for La Salle.

Laput was efficient on offense, pounding 10-of-20 attacks to finish with 12 markers while Amie Provido provided eight points for the Lady Spikers, who have been dominating UE since the second round of Season 73 (2010).

The Lady Warriors showed some resistance in the opening set but were easily overpowered in the next two to suffer a 13th straight defeat and 27th overall since last season.

“That’s what the coaches are instilling in us — one game at a time. We don’t worry about this streak that we have and the 13-0; we worry about how we perform, and if we perform, of what we had done in training. Being disciplined in staying true to the system the coaches have taught us,” Laput said.

In the third set, the Lady Spikers turned a 4-4 deadlock into a comfortable 15-9 advantage, capped by three consecutive attacks from second-year outside hitter Shane Reterta.

From there, La Salle stayed firmly in control.

Khy Cepada had 13 points and 10 excellent receptions while Van Bangayan scored 10 markers for UE, which will look to end the long win drought against Ateneo de Manila University on Saturday.

In men’s play, also-ran Red Warriors slammed the door on the Green Archers’ postseason aspirations, carving out a stunning 25-21, 28-26, 26-24 victory.

UE snapped a two-game skid for a 3-10 card and pulled La Salle to a 5-8 record that gave Ateneo de Manila University the last ticket to the Final Four to join Far Eastern University, six-peat-seeking NU and UST.