National University-Nazareth School and Bacolod Tay Tung High School — fresh off a final duel in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa — picked up where they left off, delivering commanding twin victories to kick off their respective title quests in the 2025 Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League Rising Stars Cup Division 1 on Monday at the La Salle Green Hills Gym.
The Lady Bullpups, who captured Palaro gold at the expense of the Thunderbolts last Saturday in Ilocos Norte, made a strong statement in their tournament debut with a 25-19, 25-23 sweep of previously-unbeaten Far Eastern University-Diliman in Pool D.
UAAP Season 87 MVP Sam Cantada fired seven points to anchor NUNS’ defensive clampdown on FEU-Diliman’s top gunner Ifunanya Udeagbala, halting the Lady Baby Tamaraws’ sweep aspirations in the country’s premier grassroots volleyball competition backed by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner, and R&B Milk Tea.
The reigning UAAP and Palaro champions kept their momentum rolling later in the afternoon with another sweep — this time against St. John’s Institute-Bacolod, 25-23, 25-14.
NUNS had to survive a scare in the opening frame, with SJI saving a set point at 23-24 before Jenelyn Jacob fired a down-the-line hammer to clinch the set. It was all Lady Bullpups in the second as they took control early and never looked back.
Cantada finished with 10 points, while Jacob and Raine Alonzo added eight markers apiece.
The Lady Bullpups (2-0) will wrap up their Pool D campaign Tuesday against the University of the Philippines Integrated School Fighting Maroons (0-3) and the University of Santo Tomas Junior Tigresses (2-1).
(C) Roman Prospero/SSL
Meanwhile, Bacolod Tay Tung, hungry for redemption after falling short in the Palaro final, opened its own SGVIL bid in Pool B with back-to-back sweeps of Bethel Academy, 25-14, 25-16, and De La Salle-Lipa, 25-18, 25-18.
Against DLSL, Alexa Bertolano led the Thunderbolts with eight points, while Rhose Almendralejo, Ana Hermosura, and Dona Mae De Leon chipped in seven each. Bertolano and Hermosura also notched six apiece in their win over Bethel earlier in the day.
The Thunderbolts (2-0) will try to finish pool play unscathed when they face Holy Rosary College (0-2) and Chiang Kai Shek College (2-1) on Tuesday.
In other Pool B action, De La Salle-Lipa (1-1) bounced back with a 25-17, 25-17 win over Chiang Kai Shek.
The Lady Baby Tamaraws closed out the eliminations with a 3-1 record, falling short of an outright quarterfinal berth. FEU-Diliman will now await the results of the remaining Pool D games to learn whether they will advance to the knockout stage or exit early.
St. John’s Institute finished its campaign with a 1-3 card in the tournament, which also enjoys support from Mikasa, Asics, Team Rebel Sports, Belo Deo, and Smart.
In Pool C, Arellano University joined King’s Montessori School (3-1) in the next round with a rousing 25-13, 25-15 sweep of Corpus Christi School to stay unbeaten in three games.
In the same pool, inaugural champion California Academy (2-2) bowed out on a winning note, coming back from a set down to edge De La Salle Zobel-A (1-2), 21-25, 25-21, 25-22.
Over in Pool A, Lyceum of the Philippines University gave debuting Naga College Foundation a rude welcome with an 18-25, 25-20, 25-19 comeback win, finishing pool play with a 2-2 record.
