The National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs fought back from a 1-2 deficit and routed the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons in the last two sets to earn its first win in UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball Saturday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Rookie spiker Jorelle Singh scored nine spikes in the fourth and fifth set and became the x-factor in repulsing the gritty UP charge for a 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-12, 15-9 result.
Singh co-led the Bulldogs in scoring with 20 points off 15 spikes, three blocks, and two aces, aiding star players Jaja Santiago and Myla Pablo, who could not display their dominant form against the impressive floor defense of the Fighting Maroons in the first three sets.
Santiago added 20 points as well while Pablo chipped in 16 points.
The Lady Maroons started the game with booming spikes from Nicole Tiamzon and unpredictable quick spikes from Kathy Bersola to set the pace in the first set.
The duo combined for 31 points with Bersola’s 16 points and Tiamzon’s 15 points but the two would lose steam in the final two sets.
In the second set, setter Jocelyn Soliven, who replaced the injured Ivy Perez in the lineup, found her groove and executed plays spikers Singh, Pablo, and Rizza Mandapat as Santiago concentrated in defending the net.
UP fought back in the third set after trailing, 1-6, with a variety of spikes from Bersola and Vina Alinas, who scored 16 points in the game, backed up by excellent serves from Arianne Ilustre and great digging from libero Airielle Estranero to win the set by two points.
The Lady Maroons then lost steam in the fourth and fifth set after a string of spikes from Singh, who attacked effectively from multiple angles and of varying speed. Tiamzon, who came off from a knee injury due to a vehicular accident, likewise lost fire in the last step with two spikes that went outside.
Weak floor defense did it for UP while its middle hitters reacted slowly in defending the net and in spiking the sets of Jewel Lai.
The 1-2 Bulldogs buried the 0-2 Lady Maroons for good with an open hit by Singh off a combination play with Santiago.
In the first game, the Ateneo Lady Eagles drubbed the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 25-15, 25-16, 25-17.
The machine-like Lady Eagles got their third straight win with a balanced scoring production with 42 excellent sets from Jia Morado.
Rookie center Bea de Leon had her coming out party with 12 points off ten attacks and two blocks while star player Alyssa Valdez led her team with 16 points.
The Lady Eagles simply punctured FEU’s weak net and floor defense as the Lady Tamaraws could not defend all zones from Ateneo’s varied spikes as usual scorer Bernadette Pons was forced to assist libero Tin Agno on defense.
