Lady Bulldogs win as a pack under new coach

MANILA, Philippines — Transitioning under a new coach, National University responded with an emphatic sweep of the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference, capped by its two-game romp over Far Eastern U at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan late Saturday night.

Leaning on Conference MVP Jaja Santiago and Finals MVP Jasmine Nabor while pouncing on the absence of UAAP beach volleyball bets Bernadeth Pons and Kyla Atienza, the Lady Bulldogs disposed of the FEU Lady Tams in Game One, 25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 26-24.

They repeated in four in Game Two, 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 25-16, to cap a nine-game sweep of the conference for the crown, actually their third counting NU’s two title victories in the defunct V-League in 2015-16.

As the Lady Bulldogs piled one victory after another, coach Babes Castillo often emphasized on how he wanted to see his system work.

Skipper Santiago and the rest of the pack showed that it did.

“What I learned from this season is it’s a matter of respect. We have to jive with the new system implemented on us and I am happy because we all followed it. I learned that we had nothing to lose if we adopt the new system and love what we have now. I know this will greatly help us as a team,” said Santiago.

The Lady Bulldogs dominated right from the start, whipping Lyceum, San Sebastian, FEU, Jose Rizal University and Ateneo in the single-round elims in Group A before taming Arellano in the best-of-three semifinals and silencing the Lady Tamaraws in their titular showdown.

Still it came as a surprise for the 6-5 Santiago.

“For me, winning a championship is always unexpected since we went through a lot. We always go back to the rebuilding stage but despite that, I saw how we grew stronger. We became more intact as a team because of what we went through so I am happy that we won again this conference,” said Santiago.

She hopes that the Lady Bulldogs’ successful run in the pre-season tourney will translate to a championship in the UAAP.

“This win will serve as our motivation heading to the UAAP. From here, we will learn what else we need to improve. We just have to work harder, follow our new system and stick to our game plan. We must avoid overconfidence, pour everything in training and learn to be more mature every game. If that happens, I think we can also win the championship in the UAAP,” said Santiago.

NU won the UAAP women’s volley crown only twice, the last way back in 1966-67.

But with their current form and strength, things could finally look for up for the Lady Bulldogs after more than six decades of fruitless UAAP campaign.