It was not an easy start for National University in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs, who are seen as one of the strongest contenders this season due to their intact team, dropped their opener against University of Santo Tomas in straight sets.
Then in their second game, they needed five sets to escape an Ateneo de Manila University side that is rebuilding.
Against Adamson University on Wednesday, NU finally got a good win with a 25-17, 25-20, 25-20 sweep at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
For Alyssa Solomon, it was their communication that pushed them over that bad hump during the opening week of the league.
“Siguro yung patience namin sa isa’t isa yun yung napansin ko kanina na kahit anong mangyari, may ibang sasalo para sayo na, ‘Okay lang yan.’ Nandiyan sila to cheer you up,” said the 6-foot-2 opposite spiker, who had a game-high 17 points on 14 attacks, two blocks, and a service ace.
Lady Bulldogs head coach Norman Miguel then emphasized what was missing during their bad start.
Against the new-look Blue Eagles, the Lady Bulldogs struggled before finally delivering in the fifth, 25-17, 24-26, 26-28, 25-19, 15-7.
“Sa tingin ko yung drive, yung character, at pride,” said the returning chief tactician on what was lost in their first two matches.
“Yung nangyari sa last two games namin, first game we lost to UST and second game, even though we won against Ateneo but still it was a five-setter game. Parang kulang sa pride yung game na yun eh,” he continued.
Having won two games in a row, NU will look to push to three come Saturday against a struggling University of the Philippines team.
