UAAP women's volleyball: Lady Bulldogs surprise; UST, Ateneo rise

MANILA, Philippines – If we can crib legendary American statesman Benjamin Franklin’s statement about death and taxes being the only two sure things in life, we can add La Salle women’s volleyball to the mix.

The Lady Spikers have been the class of collegiate women’s volleyball for over a decade now. They are a machine where the parts change but yet, they keep on rolling. While it was an error-filled game with Adamson, they still had enough to take the Lady Falcons down in three sets. 

They — expectedly if I may say so — are the sole undefeated team this early. And they are looking more and more like a team that is ready to annex their fourth straight title, a feat they have not yet accomplished. As for the rest of the field… now this is something else.

Let’s count the ways after this topsy-turvy weekend:

We have to start with the National University Lady Bulldogs’ win over UE

This is the big head shaker. NU lined up 11 players at the start of the season, then in their very first game lost starting setter Joyme Cagande to a season-ending injury. Three of their current players — Audrey Paran, Rose Doria and Joni Chavez — were in uniform last season. And they beat UE with their veterans in three sets!

Chavez played libero in the last two years and with Cagande out, she’s now the playmaker and she did much better than UE counterpart Laiza Bendong. Ivy Lacsina led the team in scoring with 18 while Princess Robles managed nine in spite of somewhat struggling. 

This says a lot about both teams. NU, with its rookies coming up from multi-titled teams, have a winner’s mentality while UE has talent but not that mental fortitude to get them over the hump.

The Golden Tigresses make a huge statement

What a win! And it sends UST soaring and highly fancied UP crashing down to earth. UST’s loss to Ateneo mid-week woke them up. And now you can actually say that head coach Kung-Fu Reyes has a team to really contend. He has weapons in the middle (Minela Alessandrini and rookie Kecelyn Galdones out of UE high) and the wings in Eya Laure and Sisi Rondina. There’s capable support in Mafe Galanza, Alina Bicar and Dimdim Pacres. 

With other steady contributions, now Rondina doesn’t need to over-exert herself. The other options make this squad deadly.

The Golden Tigresses could have folded after losing the first set and holding fast in the second. Then they gained their confidence and played better. This is a feel-good win for UST.

The Ateneo Lady Eagles are revving up

Remember the quote from head coach Oliver Almadro about the team playing their worst in the opening day loss to La Salle and their best still to come? You think he was lying?

Two huge wins over teams with talent and contenders. The mid-week win over UST and now a five-setter against FEU. This is like telling them that any confidence they gained from the Final Four loss last year is precisely that — last year.

I like Kat Tolentino finally leading this team and Jules Samonte regaining her confidence after losing her starting slot in the pre-season. Samonte will get better as the season progresses and I suspect she will play a huge part in what they want to achieve. Maddie Madayag has played well in two straight matches. However, right now, it is all about consistency from all quarters perhaps save for Tolentino. The scoring and defending from the middle is still spotty. Imagine if Bea De Leon can put up big numbers that would really help this team. But they need more options from the wings. 

Nevertheless, this is a huge win that gives them a lot of confidence.

Adamson has the talent to compete. At this point, I think for Coach Airess Padda, her squad needs that winner’s mentality. That is the same boat that UE finds itself in.

As for UP, it would be interesting to see how they bounce back from this loss.