MANILA, Philippines — Back-to-back champion National U battles Santo Tomas at 3 p.m. today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the last UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball finals berth on the line.
For the first time in four years, the Lady Bulldogs enter the semis without a twice-to-beat edge. La Salle’s 14-0 sweep handed the Lady Spikers an outright finals slot and forced the rest into a stepladder.
NU, the No. 2 seed, fell to La Salle in five sets in its last match, losing both the sweep bid and the win-once bonus.
NU mentor Regine Diego hopes they could withstand Santo Tomas which rides the momentum of back-to-back do-or-die wins. “We have time to perfect and correct our mistakes. Hopefully we get the win,” she said.
Captain Vange Alinsug, one of the last pieces of NU’s championship core, stays optimistic. “We know the opponents are tough now.”
The Lady Bulldogs won three of the last four titles, including a 16-0 run in 2022 led by three-time MVP Bella Belen. But Belen, Alyssa Solomon, and the rest of that core have turned pro.
That opens the door for Santo Tomas.
The Golden Tigresses are on a run. After a reverse-sweep loss to NU late in the eliminations dropped them to a playoff, Angge Poyos and UST eliminated FEU in four sets, then swept third-seed Adamson 25-16, 25-18, 25-19. Adamson is led by presumptive MVP Shaina Nitura.
“We have to triple our effort against NU,” UST coach Shaq delos Santos said. “We can change the result from last time.”
UST plays its third straight elimination match. NU enters rested and waiting.
One wins and moves on to face La Salle in the best-of-three finals. The other goes home