University of Santo Tomas built a dynasty of its own in the Shakey’s V-League by winning its third straight championship Thursday night at The Arena in San Juan.

Denied of a sweet sweep last Tuesday, the Tigresses recalled the brilliance that won for them the last two championships to beat five-time NCAA champion San Sebastian College, 25-20, 25-27, 25-12, 25-15 – a win that cemented their status as the country’s premier volleyball squad.

In all, the championship was the sixth for the Tigresses – the most by any team in the seven-year history of the league.

Fittingly, the España-based squad capped their dominating performance over the Excelroof-backed SSC belles with an ace – thanks to Rhea Dimaculangan's brilliant all-around performance.

Save for a second set lapse, everything went smoothly for the Tigresses as they they fought back from a stinging five-set defeat in Game 2 to wrap up the best-of-three title series, 2-1.

“I’m so happy because God continues to give us this kind of win. We’d like to dedicate this win to our supporters,” said UST coach Shaq Delos Santos, who had won three straight crowns after taking the coaching chores from August Sta. Maria in 2008.

Counting their victories in the UniGames last year and the UAAP crown three months ago, the championship was the fifth in a row for “Golden Girls” of España.

The Tigresses thus became second team in league history to win a “grandslam.”

The La Salle Lady Archers did the trick first in the 2005-06 season.

Aiza Maizo came through with a performance befitting her status as she scored a game-high 17 points, including some tough kills in the third set where UST began to gain momentum after yielding the tightly-fought second set.