National University-backed Dasmariñas City pulled the rug from under reigning champion Quezon with a stunning 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 sweep to open the 2025 Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association season in style over the weekend at the Dasmariñas City Arena.
Cheered on by a roaring home crowd, the Monarchs eked out the slimmest of margins in each set of the tightly contested duel, with Celine Marsh and Vange Alinsug leading the way.
Marsh exploded for 16 points, including five in the decisive third set, while Alinsug chipped in 11 for Dasma, representing two-time reigning UAAP champion NU.
This marks the start of a new era for the Lady Bulldogs without the decorated duo of Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon.
Supporting them was Myrtle Escanlar with eight points, while Alexa Mata and Minerva Maaya added six apiece for the Monarchs under new head coach Regine Diego.
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Diego, a former PVL coach with the now-defunct F2 Logistics, took over from Sherwin Meneses in the offseason.
The MPVA, founded by MPBL chairman Manny Pacquiao, serves as her first assignment at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs impressed immediately at the expense of the Tangerines, who are bannered by four-peat NCAA champion College of St. Benilde under veteran mentor Jerry Yee.
Zam Nolasco paced Quezon with 17 points, the lone bright spot for the defending champions, who did not suffer a loss in the previous MPVA season until their 10th game against Biñan after a blazing 9-0 start.
Quezon finished last year with a 17-2 overall record, capped by a 2-0 sweep of Biñan in the best-of-three finals of the emerging volleyball league supported by Mikasa, Asics, Spurway Enterprise, Gerflor, Smart Communications, and XIV Apparel.
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In the first game of the season, newcomers Pasay City Lady Voyagers pulled off a gritty 25-23, 13-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-8 victory over the Negros ICC Blue Hawks, behind the efforts of Iari Quimson and Florize Anne Papa.
Quimson and Papa delivered 13 points each, while Euricka Eslapor contributed 12. Angel Mae Antipuesto added nine, with Jozza Mae Cabalsa and Aiko Urdas scoring eight apiece in Pasay’s well-balanced attack.
Andrea Caparal top-scored with 17 points for Negros, while Angeliz Cosme and Gelah Lopez chipped in 13 and 12, respectively, in a losing effort for a squad eager to bounce back from its seventh-place finish last season.
All MPVA games are available live and on-demand via Puso Pilipinas Live at https://www.pusop.com/
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