By Ardyn Gonzales
The defending champions National University Lady Bulldogs kicked off their post-Belen era with a hard-earned win against the University of Sto. Tomas Golden Tigresses, 25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 26-24, in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament, Sunday, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After winning the first two sets, NU struggled in the succeeding sets as UST came alive to establish a comeback and force a decider.
Angge Poyos and the Golden Tigresses mounted a late 23-19 surge in the fourth, before the prized rookie Samantha Cantada stepped up in crunch time for the Lady Bulldogs and fired three service aces which helped NU steal the lead at 24-23.
Poyos halted the 5-0 run with a powerful attack, but Vange Alinsug got the point back before Poyos committed a crucial attack error to surrender the win to the defending champs.
The rookie and former UAAP juniors MVP started her collegiate debut with a 21-point performance built on 17 attacks, one kill block, and three service aces.
Team captain Alinsug contributed 18 points, while Arah Panique also chipped in 15 markers.
NU (1-0) aims to sustain its momentum in their next game as they face the Shaina Nitura-led Adamson team, while UST (0-1) hopes to avoid back-to-back losses against DLSU.
Featured image courtesy of UAAP
Follow the writer on X: @sardynas
