National University recovered from a dismal second set to beat University of the East, 25-15, 18-25, 25-23, 25-19, and stay undefeated in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament Sunday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Lady Bulldogs streaked to their third straight win while the Lady Warriors are at the bottom with a 0-3 card.
After going back and forth against the Lady Warriors and trailing, 10-11, midway through the fourth set, the Lady Bulldogs went on a 13-2 run to take a 23-13 lead, with Aiko Urdas finishing it off with a through-the-block kill.
NU head coach Babes Castillo said they had a good win, but after seeing his team falter in the second set he knew his players could do better.
“The win earlier was a good win, but it was not a good performance,” said Castillo in Filipino. “I told them to forget about the second set and let’s move on, it’s already marked on the card.”
“My players’ captain responded on the dot on what the situation needed and the team will go with the captain,” Castillo said, referring to Jaja Santiago.
When NU committed four straight errors that allowed UE to trim the deficit to six in the fourth set, 23-17, it was Santiago who stopped the Lady Warriors’ fun with a well-placed kill that put the Lady Bulldogs on match point, 24-17.
Santiago led the Lady Bulldogs’ charge with 23 points while Roselyn Doria added 12 points.
Shaya Adorador and May Ann Mendrez led UE with 11 points apiece.
In the other match, Ateneo notched its first win after taking down University of Santo Tomas, 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23.
The Lady Eagles tied the Tigresses at 1-2.
UST suffered a double whammy when it lost libero Rica Rivera to a right knee injury in the first set. Assistant coach Mark Alfafara said the initial assessment was a torn meniscus. —BONG LOZADA, INQUIRER.NET