MANILA -- University of the East registered a 25-18, 25-20, 25-20 sweep of San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Saturday to clinch a playoff berth in the 2023 Shakey's Super League (SSL) Collegiate Pre-Season Championship Season 2.

The Lady Warriors (2-1) needed only 73 minutes to eliminate the Lady Stags (1-2) in the knockout tiff for the second place and the last playoff seat from Pool A.

Veteran spiker KC Cepada and super rookie Casiey Dongallo led UE with 14 and 11 points, respectively, as the squad gifted new coach Jerry Yee a sure Top-8 stint in his debut in the 16-team tournament.

The Lady Warriors will progress to Pool E in the carryover playoffs, where they will be joined by Pool B top-seed Adamson and still-to-be-determined squads from Pool C and D.

"I'm glad that in our first time together with UE in the Shakey’s featuring the complete teams from the UAAP and NCAA, we’re able to be in the Top 8. We’re excited. We talked about this possibility," said deputy mentor Obet Vital.

"Whatever happens, happens. We’ve been together for only 2 months. We’ll work hard to go even farther. If we do that, it’s a bonus but if not, we know what we need to work on," he added.

The Lady Warriors cruised to a 20-11 lead in the first set then bucked slow starts in the next two frames to clinch their place in the next round.

UE scored its other pool play win against Jose Rizal University, 25-14, 25-21, 25-19, before absorbing a 15-25, 19-25, 15-25 loss against National University for their 2-1 slate.

Katherine Santos tallied 14 points to pace the Lady Stags.