By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs are on the verge of winning the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball championship title after asserting their mastery over the De La Salle University (DLSU) in three-straight sets, 25-20, 25-12, 25-21.
It was a Lady Bulldogs clinic as the well-rested undefeated squad outmatched the tall Lady Spikers frontline with their consistent smart offensive executions.
Alyssa Solomon and Bella Belen led the charge for NU and were all over the place, finishing off Lams Lamina’s well-placed feeds that were always turned into gold.
Lamina’s impressive 20 tallied sets spearheaded the Lady Bulldogs’ attack that resulted in 43 successful points off Lamina’s executions.
The opening set was a nip-and-tuck affair as the trio of Thea Gagate, Fifi Sharma, and Leila Cruz joined hands in answering every NU point but Solomon’s timely stretch to get hot helped the Lady Bulldogs pull away.
DLSU then lost gas in the following set and got overwhelmed with a blazing NU attack spearheaded by Belen who delivered a couple of facial kill spikes to the Lady Spikers’ backline.
Ginamit namin yung time na sa stepladder para makapag-prepare kami. Nag-polish kami ng galaw namin at noong nalaman na namin kung sino ang kalaban namin, nag-aral na kami,” said NU head coach Karl Dimaculangan.
The Lady Spikers bounced back in the third set and attempted to steal one to grab the momentum but Belen was backstopped by Ivy Lacsina who punished the DLSU middle blockers and stayed patient defensively.
Solomon led NU with 15 points built from 12 successful attacks including two aces and a block while Belen produced the same amount of points and chipped in two blocks and 13 excellent receptions.
Meanwhile, it was an offensive struggle for the Lady Spikers who are looking to equalize the UAAP finals series at 1-1 when they meet again in the court tomorrow.
