Lady Bulldogs subdue Tams, near title

MANILA, Philippines — National University survived a fourth set scare as it repulsed a Bernadeth Pons-less Far Eastern University, 25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 26-24, last night to zero in on the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference crown at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

The Lady Bulldogs broke down in the face of the Lady Tams’ fiery comeback in the fourth, blowing a 21-15 lead but pulling through in a deuce endgame just the same as the latter made a service error and a mishit to yield a 24-all count, the set and the match.

Jaja Santiago lived up to the hype and fired 23 hits, including 15 attack points and four blocks, as the Lady Bulldogs moved a win closer to sweeping the season-ending conference.

Stunned by a late second set foldup where they blew a 20-16 lead and lost by four, the Lady Bulldogs came out of the third frame firing from all angles to go 2-1 up then withstood the Lady Tams’ stirring rally late in the fourth to annex the victory in four at the start of their best-of-three series.

They go for the clincher on Saturday.

NU survived FEU’s gritty stand in the opening set, battling through a series of ties before unleashing a strong finishing kick, breaking away from a 22-count with a sweep of the last three points, the last two on kill blocks by Santiago and setter Jasmine Nabor.

The Lady Bulldogs, who played without Pons and libero Kyla Atienza anew, also rallied from 1-6 down in the second frame but this time, the Lady Tams returned the favor, battling back from 16-20 down to win nine of the next 10 points, including five straight to steal the frame.

Jeanette Villareal anchored FEU’s fiery second set windup with three straight aces with Heather Anne Guinoo capping the big finish with a kill to level the match.

Earlier, Arellano U needed strong finishes in the first two sets then went on to dominate the last to trounce Adamson, 25-23, 26-24, 25-14, in their duel for third.

The Lady Chiefs leaned on their blocking and on skipper Jovielyn Prado to prevail in the first and second sets, respectively, while Mary Anne Esguerra stepped up to help give AU a nine-point cushion in the third on their way to victory.

Prado logged a game-high 18 points built on 13 kills, three aces and two denials she spiked with 11 digs and nine excellent receptions, Regine Arocha made 15 hits, Necole Ebuen punched in 10 points and Esguerra had nine markers for the Lady Chiefs.

Joy Dacoron produced nine points while Chiara Permentilla and Christine Soyud struggled for seven markers each for the Lady Falcons, who absorbed their third straight defeat, including two against the Lady Tams in their best-of-three semis matchup that went the distance, following a sweep of the group elims stage.

The league is organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa and Asics.