NU, UST eye finals rematch in UAAP girls volleyball

Defending girls champion National University and University of Santo Tomas aim to arrange a finals rematch when they go against separate foes Tuesday at the start of the semifinals  of the UAAP Season 78 high school volleyball tournament at Adamson gym.

The top seeded Bullpups will take on No. 4 University of the East at 10:30 a.m. while the Junior Tigresses battle third-ranked De La Salle-Zobel at 12 noon.       

NU finished the double-round eliminations with an 11-1 record following a 25-14, 25-21, 25-14 conquest of Far Eastern University-Diliman over the weekend.      

UST finished the eliminations as the second seed after  hammering out a 25-21, 25-19, 25-21 win over Adamson University for a 10-2 slate.

The losses booted the Baby Tamaraws and the Baby Falcons out of Final Four contention with identical 4-8 records while the Junior Warriors clinched the last semis spot at 5-7 despite a 8-25, 25-20, 8-25, 15-25 defeat to the Junior Lady Spikers.       

The Bullpups and the Junior Tigresses are looking to face off in the championship round for the third straight year.

NU, meanwhile, bagged the outright championship berth in the boys division after sweeping the 12-game elimination round with a 25-12, 25-14, 25-12 thrashing of La Salle-Zobel.       

UE secured the twice-to-beat bonus in the step-ladder semifinals with a 25-17, 25-17, 25-20 victory over Ateneo while FEU-Diliman took the No. 3 seed with a tough 28-26, 25-23, 25-21 win over UST.

The Junior Warriors ended up at 10-2, while the Baby Tamaraws entered the semis for the first time ever with a 8-4 record.        

Tied in fourth place at 5-7, the Tiger Cubs and the Blue Eaglets dispute the remaining semifinals berth at 9 a.m. Tuesday.