Undefeated University of Santo Tomas (UST) secured the No. 1 seeding in the semifinals after making short work of Australian guest team Southern Storm Melbourne, 25-20, 25-14, 25-9, in the 2026 Shakey’s Collegiate National Invitationals on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Golden Tigresses neutralized the Australians’ height advantage by beating them to the draw with fast and angled attacks to break their defensive wall on their way to a 4-0 win-loss record.

In the second game, Enderun Colleges breathed life into its flickering Final Four bid after a straight-set victory over Vietnamese guest team Ho Chi Minh City Volleyball Club, 25-16, 29-27, 25-16, for a 1-3 win-loss record.

Althea Botor fired 14 points built on 12 attacks, one kill block and an ace as the Lady Titans remained in contention for a spot in the next round.

After a scare in the extended second set, where Enderun needed to save three set points, it was all Lady Titans in the third frame to finally notch a win after dropping their first three outings.

Michaella Ma got 11 points on nine spikes and two kill blocks while Ederlyn Alba scored 10 for Enderun, which will play Letran on Thursday.

The Vietnamese remained at the cellar with a 0-4 mark.

Le Thi Diem Phoung unloaded 20 points, 18 coming from kills and two from kill blocks, in a losing effort for Ho Chi Minh City.

Hua Mai Phuong finished with nine points and Thach Thi Thai Nhi added eight for the Vietnamese, who will close their elims campaign on Thursday against unbeaten semis-bound UST.

It was the veteran duo of Angge Poyos and Regina Jurado who did most of the damage as UST inched closer to completing an elimination round sweep of the competition backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner and R and B Milk Tea.

Poyos punched in 14 points on 13 kills and an ace while Jurado played her first game in the tournament after sitting out the first two and contributed eight points for the España-based squad.

“I’m grateful because we got this victory in straight sets. Our opponents were tall, and during the first set, I felt like I was still trying to find my rhythm,” said Poyos, who was limited to three points in the first set.

“I made sure to apply what we’ve been working on in training, specifically wiping the ball off the block, especially since their blockers are so tall.”

Marga Altea also had eight markers for the Tigresses, who will face Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Volleyball Club on Thursday to close the eliminations.