NU Lady Bulldogs celebrate a point against the UE Lady Warriors. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Facing early adversity, National University rose to the occasion after beating University of the East, 25-19, 25-23, 25-19, for its first win in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament Saturday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Ivy Lacsina fired a game-high 18 points to lead the way for the Lady Bulldogs, who played their first game minus their lone setter Joyme Cagande due to a left knee injury.
“We’re happy but I can’t really express how happy we are because everyone knows the team’s struggles,” said Norman Miguel, who is in his first year as NU’s head coach.
Without Cagande, who could miss the rest of the season after being feared to have sustained an ACL injury in NU’s loss to FEU last week, the Lady Bulldogs found an able replacement in Joni Chavez, who had been converted from libero to setter.
Chavez did not disappoint with 14 excellent sets in her first stint as a setter.
“It’s tough at first but I’m just taking it as a challenge,” Chavez said in Filipino.
Roselyn Doria added 12 points for NU, which got 26 points off UE’s errors.
Judith Abil was the only Lady Warrior to hit double-digit points with 10.