By ADRIAN STEWART CO
The National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs pounced on the absence of De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers star Angel Canino to score a 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 win in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Sunday, April 14.
Evangeline Alinsug stepped up with 22 points, on 20 attacks, one block and a service ace, to go with 10 excellent digs as the Lady Bulldogs tied the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses with a 10-2 win-loss slate.
Mhicaela Belen finished with 14 points, 14 excellent receptions and seven excellent digs, while Alyssa Solomon finished with 13 points for NU, which is on a five-game winning run in the second round of the eliminations.
After a first-set meltdown, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves down, 22-23, late in the second set, but an attack by Belen tied the score at 23-all before the Lady Spikers committed back-to-back errors to hand NU the set, 25-23.
The Lady Bulldogs had a fiery start in the third set as they jumped to an 8-3 lead, which later grew to 19-11 via multiple Lady Spikers errors.
DLSU still attempted to make a late push, but back-to-back hits by Alinsug secured the set win for NU.
The Lady Spikers opened the fourth set with four straight points, but the Lady Bulldogs rallied back to force a tight exchange with the score tied at 22-all before they secured the victory behind Alinsug’s attacks.
“Sobrang happy lang na nanalo kami ulit versus La Salle, kasi hindi pa kami nanalo sa kanila since [Season 84]. So ang mindset talaga namin is matalo sila ngayon,” Belen said.
“Gusto nila manalo, pero mas ginusto namin na manalo,” she added.
Shevana Laput top-scored with 21 points, while Thea Gagate added 12 markers for the Lady Spikers (9-2), which missed the services of Canino for the third straight game due to a non-volleyball-related injury.
Meanwhile, Roma Mae Doromal had a solid defensive outing as the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles edged the University of the East Lady Warriors, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16.
The Iloilo City-native Doromal finished with 23 excellent digs and 23 excellent receptions as the Blue Eagles improved to a 4-8 win-loss slate, matching their win total from last season./ASC, WDJ