By NIKOLE JAVIER
University of Santo Tomas withstood National University’s smoldering comeback and hacked out a 25-23, 27-25, 17-25, 22-25, 15-11 thriller in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday, March 4, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Golden Tigresses held their ground in the face of the Lady Bulldogs’ relentless attack before finding “another gear” to complete their remarkable win over the defending champion which won the title last season via a 16-game sweep to end a 65-year drought.
More than ending NU’s impressive 20-game streak dating back in the 2019 edition, UST improved its record to 2-1, tying the Lady Bulldogs and Adamson Lady Falcons in the process.
“Cardiac, rollercoaster ‒ up and down yung flow ng game. Yun yung mga things na dapat naming ma-overcome, nung nawala yung middle namin,” head coach Kungfu Reyes said.
“Luckily, bad game si NU. Pero kahit bad game, ang hirap pa ring manalo sa kanila. Every point kailangang mong magtrabaho. Luckily nakuha namin yung fifth set,” he added.
Interestingly, prior to NU’s five-setter win over Adamson last March 1, it was actually against UST that it played its last extended match way back on March 4, 2020.
Regina Jurado and Eya Laure delivered 18 points each in the huge win, while the returning Milena Alessandrini chipped in 14.
UST came out on top in the tight first two sets but was foiled in its bid for a straight-set victory as NU found its rhythm in the next two.
After being dragged to a sudden death, the Golden Tigresses shrugged off the Lady Bulldogs’ early 5-2 start with a 3-0 run of their own to bring themselves to the first deadlock of the fifth set.
However, it would be the last time NU would come within striking distance of UST, which would go on a blistering 6-1 run to extend its lead by five, 12-7.
In NU’s attempt to turn things around, three match points will be saved which would not be enough as Laure came through with a huge block point on Alyssa Solomon for the win.
Solomon’s 22-point outing for the Lady Bulldogs was not enough to hurdle the Golden Tigresses’ tough challenge, while Bella Belen and Erin Pangilinan added 17 and 13 points, respectively, in the losing effort as they absorbed their first loss of the season.
