13 March 2019
By Ardyn Gonzales
The rookie-laden National University Lady Bulldogs registered their most important win this season over the pre-season favorites University of the Philippines Lady Maroons in a five-set upset win, 25-17, 14-25, 17-25, 25-23, 17-15, in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament, Wednesday, at the FilOil Flying-V Arena in San Juan.
After a convincing first set win that saw NU with an 11-1 start, the Lady Bulldogs suddenly experienced meltdown in the next two frames as UP gradually picked up their game.
NU was once again trailing UP in the latter part of the fourth set, 18-21, until Cess Robles’ heavy serves propelled the Lady Bulldogs to steal the set and extend the match into five.
UP seemed to have recovered in the deciding set after pulling away from NU in the crucial stretch, 14-10. However, their own unforced errors killed their chances of closing out the Lady Bulldogs as a stunning 7-1 run from NU shocked the Lady Maroons. A block on Tots Carlos sent UP to back-to-back losses.
The rookies of NU all stepped up in this match, with Cess Robles and Ivy Lacsina doing damage in the offense with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Jen Nierva manned the defense with 26 excellent digs and 29 excellent receptions.
Tots Carlos and Justine Dorog had 15 points apiece for UP who unfortunately fell to the fifth spot in the standings with 3-3 win-loss card.
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