NU escapes Ateneo upset in women's volleyball

c/o the UAAP

Standings W L

Women

DLSU 2 0

UST 2 0

UE 1 1

AdU 1 1

FEU 1 1

NU 1 1

Ateneo 0 2

UP 0 2

Games on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena

9 a.m. – FEU vs UE (Men)

11 a.m. – UST vs DLSU (Men)

1 p.m. – FEU vs UE (Women)

3 p.m. – UST vs DLSU (Women)

Upset averted, as National University outlasted the Ateneo de Manila University in a five-set duel, 25-17 24-26 26-28 25-19 15-7, to cap off action on Saturday at the UAAP Season 86 Women's Volleyball Tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Ensuring that they would not be beaten in the final set and drop down to 0-2, Bella Belen and Vange Alinsug took over as they finished off the Blue Eagles in almost two and a half hours.

The UAAP Season 84 Rookie-MVP ended up with 21 points, 24 digs, and ten excellent receptions. She told the media after the game, "Isa po sa pinaghuhugutan namin or ako is yung pagkatalo namin nung last game namin against UST. Mahirap po yung pinagdaanan namin ngayon pero I'm really happy kasi halos lahat ng nasa lineup nagamit and nakita namin kung ano yung potential ng mga bago namin."

The latter added nineteen points in securing their opening triumph of the season.

NU head coach Norman Miguel also shared post-match, "I think this is unpopular for everyone. Sa tingin ko ngayon pa lang nagsstart magrecover yung team coming from University Games and after that tuloy tuloy kami sa training, we had series of practice games against the top club teams."

He adds, "Para sa akin I think medyo kulang pa sa recovery yung team namin that's why we performed like this."

Ateneo set themselves for a potential victory by taking the next two sets after dropping the first. 

With the Lady Bulldogs at set point with a 24-23 lead, AC Miner and Lyann de Guzman scored the next three points to steal the second set. The third set saw Yvana Sulit and Sobe Buena make the clutch hits allowing Ateneo to take the lead.

NU regained their bearings and relied on their middle blockers Erin Pangilinan and Chams Maaya to break away from 15-14 and force a decider at 25-19. Maaya would finish with nine spikes, five blocks, and an ace.

Complementing the side are Alyssa Solomon finished with twelve points in just four sets of action, as well as Shaira Jardio, who tacked on 21 digs and 17 receptions.

Buena would finish with sixteen points to lead the Blue Eagles, with Miner and Geezel Tsunashina combining for 26 points.

De Guzman produced eleven points, 22 digs, and five receptions, as Ateneo dropped its second straight assignment.

NU will shoot for its second win this Wednesday when it clashes with Adamson at the SMART Araneta Coliseum at 2 pm. After that, Ateneo will look to end its misery when it faces the University of the Philippines in the 4 p.m..