In the battle the two remaining unbeaten teams in the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference Group A, the National University Lady Bulldogs clawed past the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws, 22-25, 28-26, 29-27, 25-22, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Each set featured a comeback from FEU. Down 12-16 in the opening frame, the Lady Tamaraws made a late surge built on solid transition offense. The ladies from Morayta took the lead, 22-20, after a Bernadeth Pons and never looked back.
In the second frame, the Lady Bulldogs nearly let another lead slip from their grasp. Leading 20-17, National U slowly let FEU come back into it. Tied at 23, a crucial attack error from Jorelle Singh gave FEU set point, but the Lady Tams gave up an error to settle the match at deuce. FEU had two more set point chances but, each time, they fumbled the transition attack, leading to errors. Jaja Santiago and Aiko Urdas eventually save NU, powering in their squad’s last three points.
Santiago and Urdas again provided pivotal points in a back-and-forth third set. Stuck in another deuce, Urdas powered past two blockers to force a 27-all tie. From there, Jaja Santiago provided the finishing touches with a soft back-row hit followed by a smash.
The Lady Tamaraws, down 10-16, made one last comeback attempt in the fourth set. Thanks to solid serving from setter Kyle Negrito, FEU rallied all the way back to a 20-19 lead. However, FEU’s last gasp died, as the Lady Bulldogs took the breath right out of them. Audrey Paran and Jasmine Nabor found two aces late that setup Urdas’ game-winning hit.
“We’ve been trying to do a system for the past few weeks. In the first week, it was a struggle for us. But, slowly, naiintindihan na ng mga bata ‘yung system,” said NU’s new head coach Babes Castillo.
The six-foot-five Santiago led all scorers with 26 points off 22 attacks, three aces, and a block. Urdas added 15 markers all off attacks
FEU’s graduating captain Bernadeth Pons was a force with 18 points and 23 digs. Opposite hitter Toni Basas provided 10 markers.
National U (3-0) next face the the JRU Lady Bombers (0-3) on September 25. FEU (2-1) will try to bounce back also against JRU on September 27.
The Scores
NU (3) – Santiago 26, Urdas 15, Singh 9, Paran 7, Sato 7, Nabor 5, Valdez (L)
FEU (1) – Pons 18, Basas 10, Guino-O 9, Negrito 8, Domingo 7, Malabanan 6, Cayuna 4, Carandag 3, Villareal 2, Agudo 1, Atienza (L)
