By Ardyn Gonzales
The defending champions National University Lady Bulldogs officially have the chance to defend the crown after surviving the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws via an emotional reverse sweep, 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 17-15, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball semifinals, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
NU needed to dig deep to mount a comeback from a 0–2 deficit in the match and 18-20 disadvantage in the third set.
Vange Alinsug’s back-to-back points sparked a 5-3 run that forced a 23-all deadlock. It was then Bella Belen’s turn to bring NU to set point, followed by a very timely service ace by Alexia Mata to extend the match.
The momentum has carried the Lady Bulldogs quickly past the Lady Tamaraws in the fourth set, successfully forcing a fifth and deciding set.
After a slow start, Alyssa Solomon came alive in the fifth and was unstoppable, almost scoring at will to help NU build an 8-6 lead.
FEU, however, kept holding on and tied the match again at 10-all. The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Tamaraws just exchanged points from then onwards to an extended set.
The Rookie Lovely Lopez was erasing all the match points of NU every deuce but the leading MVP candidate Belen just knew what to do and scored consecutive points to finally get the come-from-behind win and the first ticket to the finals.
Knowing what happened last season when NU lost to FEU via straight sets in the semifinals, Belen proved to be the heart and soul of the defending champions as she finished with 24 points, 14 excellent digs, and 10 excellent receptions.
Solomon added 21, most of which she scored in the sets NU won. Alinsug also provided the much-needed support with 18 markers.
Meanwhile, FEU will finish again at fourth spot this season as they bow down to NU in the semifinals once more.
Faida Bakanke led FEU’s stand with 15 points, while Jaz Ellarina and Gerz Petallado produced 14 points apiece.
Featured image courtesy of UAAP
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