Slow was the start of National University in its penultimate elimination game against Far Eastern University on Tuesday afternoon.
Despite being the overwhelming favorites in this matchup, the Lady Bulldogs surprisingly struggled as they lost the first set, 24-26. Wanting to uplift the spirits of her teammates, libero Jen Nierva took it upon herself to motivate and inspire them to bounce back in the ensuing sets.
“Kanina sa game, what I observed was talagang tight lahat, and na-feel ko ‘yung ‘di ganun ‘yung energy ng team namin,” she said. “So what I did was ako ‘yung nag-simula ng energy, like ako rin ‘yung nag-enjoy inside the court, and nakita ko na sumabay din sila sa energy na ‘yun.
“So I’m grateful na by doing that simple thing, talagang mababago ‘yung run nung team.”
The rest of the Lady Bulldogs heeded the call as they played more comfortably despite being down by a set to the Lady Tamaraws. They went on to dominate the remainder of the game, 25-17, 25-19, 25-10, to run away with the victory and move on the verge of sweeping the elimination round of the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball tournament.
Nierva provided solid floor defense for NU after finishing with 18 excellent digs and 12 excellent receptions. Bella Belen, who topscored with 18 markers, credited their starting libero for sparking the fire that they needed in order to regain their form and win over the Lady Tamaraws.
“Nung first set po kasi parang ‘yun nga po mababa ‘yung energy ng team, and nung natapos po ‘yung first set sabi po ni ate Jen [Nierva] na dapat ine-enjoy po namin ‘yung game,” the rookie outside hitter shared.
“Dapat linalabas namin ‘yung laro namin and itinaas po namin ‘yung standard namin. Dapat kahit sino kalaban ‘yung standard nandun pa rin po, so nung nakita po namin si ate Jen na nag-eenjoy na, so ayun po sumunod lang po kami sa kanya then linabas lang po namin ‘yung galaw po talaga namin and ‘yung pinagtraining-an po namin.”
Through 13 games, the Lady Bulldogs have dominated the competition as they remain undefeated heading to the final tilt of the elimination round. Finishing with a 14-0 card will then reward the top-seeded NU with a stepladder format in the playoffs.
Despite the success that they’ve achieved up to this point, Nierva knows that they shouldn’t rest on their laurels just yet as they set their sights on winning the crown this season.
“Actually, mahirap siya. Kanina na-feel ko, inisip ko na baka nawawala ‘yung hunger ng bawat isa, so kailangan lang talaga mag-usap ulit kami kung ano ‘yung goal ng team,” the NU Nazareth product stressed.
“Kasi hindi dapat matitigil sa 13-0 or 14-0, kasi ‘yun nga like what I told yung media last time, ang goal talaga is the championship. So kailangan every game dun naka-set ‘yung mind namin na hindi dapat ‘yung standard namin, ‘di pang-elimination lang.”
After a win over FEU, coach Karl Dimaculangan’s squad will head back to the drawing board as they aim to complete a sweep of the tournament with a win over the third-ranked University of Santo Tomas on Thursday at 4 pm.
“Kailangan every game ipapakita namin na eto ‘yung standard na laro ng NU ngayon and pinaghirapan namin ‘yun eh, so ayun,” said Nierva. “Sabi ni Bella [Belen] back to preparation ulit ‘yung mindset ng bawat isa na hindi pwede makita ng kalaban ‘yung weakness namin, once na mag-step kami sa championship.
“But, of course, UST first.”
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