MANILA – National University Lady Bulldogs kicked off its title retention bid in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-16 straight set romp of Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Alyssa Solomon led the way with 12 points, on 10 attacks, one block and a service ace, while Ilongga Princess Robles logged 11 points and eight digs for the Lady Bulldogs, which recorded its 19th straight win dating back to Season 82.
Leading by just a small margin in the early parts of both the first and second frames, the Lady Bulldogs unleashed huge runs to put away the Blue Eagles and cruise to a 2-0 advantage.
The Lady Bulldogs then started the third on fire, racing to a 16-4 lead and reaching match point by a mile, 24-11, before the Blue Eagles made five straight points to inch within single digit, 24-16, before Ateneo’s Faith Nisperos committed a service error.
“Malaking bagay sa amin ‘yung parang fresh start kasi kami eh. Ang mindset na muna namin ‘yun pa rin, every game pa rin mula last season hanggang sa nag-champion kami and ngayon panibago na ulit,” said NU head coach Karl Dimaculangan.
Alexa Miner top-scored with nine points including two blocks, while Vanessa Gandler and Nisperos chipped in eight points apiece for the Season 84 second runner ups Blue Eagles.
In the first game, Adamson University Lady Falcons hardly broke a sweat to score a 25-19, 25-9, 25-5 sweep over the University of the East Lady Warriors to open their campaign on a winning note.
The Lady Falcons were challenged by the Lady Warriors in the opening set with the former clinging to a 20-18 lead before Lucille Almonte spearheaded a 5-1 finishing run for Adamson.
The Lady Falcons, however, came out firing in the second and third sets as they quickly jumped to an early double-digit lead to wrap up their first win of the season in 63 minutes.
Almonte led the Lady Falcons with 12 points built on 10 attacks laced with eight excellent digs, while Trisha Tubu had 11 points in her debut as Ayesha Juegos and Kate Santiago got seven points apiece./PN
