Bulldogs NU Bulldogs: one of the two unbeaten teams in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament. UAAP photo

Bulldogs, Maroons triumph

May 11, 2022 Theodore P. Jurado 467 views

NATIONAL University and University of the Philippines became the remaining unbeaten squads in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament after dealing a first loss to their respective foes yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

In what could be an early championship preview has turned out to be a dominant show for the Lady Bulldogs, who made quick work of La Salle, 25-22, 25-15, 25-19, for their third straight win.

Hardly given a second look before the start of the season, the upstart Fighting Maroons topped University of Santo Tomas, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, to also improve to 3-0.

Rookie playmaker Camilla Lamina was solid in distributing plays for NU with 15 excellent sets while Mhicaela Belen produced four of her team’s 10 service aces.

“Nag-enjoy lang kami sa loob ng court,” said Lamina after the one hour, 34 minute match.

The Lady Bulldogs’ floor defense rattled the Lady Spikers, as libero Jen Nierva had 16 receptions and collected 11 digs.

“Nakinig sila sa game plan. Nag-stick sila doon,” said NU coach Karl Dimaculangan.

Alyssa Solomon paced the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points, including three service aces, Belen added 13 points, seven digs and seven receptions while Cess Robles had two blocks for a 12-point outing.

UP is now enjoying its finest start since 2017 when the Diliman-based spikers opened the season at 4-0.

The victory came on the eve of the Fighting Maroons’ potential coronation as men’s basketball kings that somehow boosted the spirits of the women’s volleyball squad, which is eyeing its first Final Four stint since 2016.

“Siguro, inspiration sa amin iyon. Yun nga, one win na lang magtsa-champion na sila,” said Lorie Bernardo, who had three of UP’s 10 blocks. “Which means itong laban namin na ito, parang ipapakita namin sa basketball na kaya din naming lumaban sa championship.”

“That’s very true. We get inspired by our basketball team. We are happy for them. We wish them the best of luck in tomorrow’s game (against Ateneo). We believed they got this, they’re gonna win, yeah its gonna be 2-0, then we do the same,” said Fighting Maroons coach Godfrey Okumu.

Captain Jewel Encarnacion took the scoring mantle for the Fighting Maroons with 16 points, including two service aces, to go with 14 receptions and 11 digs.

Alyssa Bertolano, the league’s leading scorer, had three blocks and two service aces to finish with 15 points and collected 11 receptions, while Niña Ytang, Lorie Bernardo and Jai Atienza each had nine points.

Later, Chenie Tagaod had 20 kills as Far Eastern University earned its first win at the expense of University of the East, 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 17-25, 15-10.

Eya Laure almost single-handedly carried the Tigresses with a career-high 28 points as injured middle blocker Imee Hernandez missed her second straight game.

The Tigresses lost for the first time after opening the season with back-to-back straight-set romps to tie the Lady Spikers in third place.

“It was not an easy game. UST is a very, very strong team, they are very experienced, and they have a good coaching staff who would know how to read a game. So, it’s a win yes, but it wasn’t easy for us. We really worked hard for this and I hope the girls will continue fighting the same way,” said Okumu.

The Lady Warriors pushed the Lady Tamaraws to a fifth set behind Ja Lana and Ercae Nieva but their efforts were not enough to save from a third straight loss.

Lana had 20 points, including three blocks, while Nieva chipped in 19 points and 17 digs for UE. By Theodore Jurado

AUTHOR PROFILE