The three-time defending champion relied on Princess Bello with 23 points off 21 attacks and two aces as the Lady Chiefs improved to a 4-1 win-loss record to secure solo second place, just behind College of Saint Benilde, who had a 4-0 slate.

The Lady Chiefs struggled in the second set but recovered in the third set to give them a 2-1 set advantage.

The Lady Bombers opened the fourth canto with a 7-4 advantage but Arellano shifted to high gear and began to pull away courtesy of back-to-back hits from Charmina Diño and Princess Bello to break open a 10-all tie.

Arellano seemed to find their momentum as they converted an 18-12 lead that eventually turned into a 23-15 advantage before JRU responded with three straight points to come back to within five, 23-18.

Trina Marice Abay of Arellano put them at match point, 24-18, and eventually sealed the win 25-19.

“If we didn’t make the right adjustment, maybe we would still be playing until now,” said Arellano coach Obet Javier in Filipino.

“Their (Lady Bombers) middles were very good, we almost never able to block any of them,” he added.

Reinforcements also came from Diño and Abay added 11 and 10 points each, while Cherry Mae Cuenca tallied 17 excellent digs and 13 excellent receptions.

Riza Rose was the lone double-digit scorer for JRU with 13 points as the Lady Bombers fell to 2-3.