By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs exacted its revenge on the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses and handed them their first-ever loss in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20, on March 24, 2024, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
After dropping its first encounter against UST in a disappointing 0-3 fashion, the Lady Bulldogs processed their learnings from that first-round defeat and banked on their adjustments during their highly anticipated rematch in the second round of the UAAP Women’s Volleyball.
However, UST needed some time to rekindle their fire after letting their early lead slip away in the opening frame. After leading by four points, the Lady Bulldogs collapsed in an uncharacteristic way midway through the set which allowed the Golden Tigresses to execute their offensive sets.
Timely hits from the Golden Tigresses propelled them to an early 1-0 set lead and extended its dominance on NU to four straight wins, carrying from that first-round win.
Just when UST thought they could replicate their first-round mastery, the Lady Bulldogs finally entered the second set on the same page and started to bully them with their signature high-octane attacks.
The duo of Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon spearheaded the charge for NU in the second set and proved to be too much for UST.
Solomon, known for her crafty ways in attacking the leather, kicked off her scoring party with several off-speed hits in the cross-court that caught UST off guard several times.
On the other hand, Belen, the former UAAP Rookie Most Valuable Player (MVP), showcased her deep offensive bag and wowed the crowd with several drop shot points and powerful back-row hits.
With NU’s duo weaving magic inside the hardwood, the Golden Tigresses began to slow down and rewarded the Lady Bulldogs with freebie points from their unforced errors in their first ball receives.
The meltdown for UST continued in the last two sets as they failed to bounce back both in offense and defense and could only watch NU operate on both ends of the floor.
One of the keys to NU’s resounding victory was their decision to evade Detdet Pepito, UST’s superstar libero, in landing their first balls and their attacks.
With Pepito not receiving NU’s first ball, the Golden Tigresses had difficulties in setting up their offensive attacks.
Belen earned the Best Player of the Game honors after putting up 21 big points derived from 20 successful attacks to go alongside two blocks and a service ace.
Meanwhile, Solomon backstopped Belen with 17 big points while Shaira Jardio chipped in 23 excellent receptions and 10 digs.
“I’m very happy lang po kasi lahat sa amin talagang ginusto manalo sa laro na ito. Lagi ko kasing sinasabi sa teammates ko kanina, wala pa silang talo so mas masarap manalo,” said Belen after the win.
