By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers faltered to the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 25-17, 25-21, 13-25, 25-17, in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, May 11.

Negrense Angel Canino finished with 22 points, coming from 21 attacks and a block, for the Lady Spikers, which are attempting to reclaim the championship they failed to defend last season.

Evangeline Alinsug powered the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points — all from attacks — alongside four excellent receptions and three excellent digs as they took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Mhicaela Belen also delivered a strong performance with 19 points, including 17 attacks and two aces, while adding 15 excellent digs and 12 excellent receptions for NU, who are now one win away from a second consecutive title.

After a hiccup in the third set, NU found themselves in a tight fourth set, holding on to a narrow 14-12 lead.

But they pulled away behind timely hits from Alyssa Solomon, Alinsug and Alexa Mata to widen the gap to 21-16.

A string of DLSU errors and back-to-back hits from Alinsug eventually sealed the victory for NU.

“‘Yung game naman, hindi natin masabi. Talagang ‘yung situation sa third set kailangan lang naming tanggapin, then bawi ng fourth set. ‘Yun naman ang pinakamahalaga eh, ‘yung maka-recover ka,” NU head coach Sherwin Meneses said.

Shevana Laput and Ilongga Amie Provido backed up Canino offensively with 16 and 10 points, respectively, for the Lady Spikers./ASC, WDJ