By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs maintained their dominance in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament after snapping the five-game winning streak of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses, 23-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18, 15-9, on March 16, 2025, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Despite dropping a close first-set that allowed the Golden Tigresses to clinch the early momentum, the Lady Bulldogs found their footing in the following frame after receiving a balanced attack from the trio of Alyssa Solomon, Bella Belen, and Vange Alinsug.
Solomon kicked off their second-set rally with back-to-back powerful hits, followed by a combined run from Belen and Alinsug that swelled NU’s lead to as much as nine points.
The next two sets became a see-saw affair as Regina Jurado sparked UST’s answering run in the third to help the Golden Tigresses move a set away from tainting NU’s perfect UAAP record.
However, Solomon, who started hot in the second set, replicated her flawless offensive brilliance in the fourth, providing the much-needed lift to force a deciding fifth set against UST.
Solomon sparked a momentum-changing 13-7 NU scoring run and was the catalyst for how they were able to turn a one-point lead into a massive seven-point advantage. After finishing a cross-court spike, the reigning Finals MVP hammered one from the backline that set up the highly-anticipated fifth-set duel.
UST reverted to their 1-2 quick play for Jurado that paid off dividends but NU answered back with a series of off-the-block kills, capped off by a Belen drop ball to establish a narrow 7-5 lead.
Aiming to feed the hottest player on the court, the Lady Bulldogs returned to Belen and the decorated spiker didn’t disappoint as she fired three consecutive points that paved the way for NU’s dominant finish in five sets.
“Masaya kami kasi na-experience namin ‘yung ganitong labanan. Talagang hindi rin magpapatalo ‘yung UST, happy ako na talagang nakarecover kami down 2-1. Hopefully mapolish pa namin ‘yung lapses namin,” said NU head coach Sherwin Meneses after his team hacked out a come-from-behind win.
Solomon led the way for the defending champions after top-scoring the game with 24 points built from 21 successful attacks. She also chipped in on the defensive end after tallying three blocks.
Meanwhile, the veteran duo of Belen and Alinsug backstopped Solomon with 19 and 17 markers, respectively, while Erin Pangilinan added 12 points.
