NU belles seek win, DLSU showdown

MANILA, Philippines - National University takes on Ateneo today at the resumption of the stepladder semifinals, looking for a victory and a title showdown with thrice-to-beat La Salle in UAAP Season 76 women’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Bulldogs hold a twice-to-beat advantage over the Lady Eagles after finishing second in the eliminations with a 12-2 record. A victory in the 4 p.m. duel will send NU to a championship showdown with defending champion La Salle, which gained an outright passage plus a tremendous thrice-to-beat edge for sweeping the 14-game elims.

The Lady Bulldogs swept the Lady Eagles in their head-to-head this season, but coach Edjet Mabayyad remains wary of the Loyola-based squad.

Complementing the towering sisters Dindin and Jaja Santiago are power hitters in Mina Aganon, Myla Pablo and Aiko Urdas.

Setter Ivy Perez will also be a vital cog for the Lady Bulldogs.

Ateneo defeated a veteran Adamson University crew, 26-24, 25-23, 25-21, in the first step-ladder last Sunday to advance. The Lady Eagles proved to be more than an Alyssa Valdez team as Amy Ahomiro continued to provide big contributions. Rookie Michelle Morente was a revelation in the past three outings and pint-sized Ella de Jesus played big against the Lady Falcons.

Rookie setter Jia Morado is also tipped to step up for the Katipunan-based squad, which finished third in the eliminations with a 10-4 card despite a rookie-laden roster.

Meanwhile, NU seeks to arrange a best-of-three title series with Ateneo in the men’s division as the defending champions face No. 4 Adamson University at 2 p.m.

The Bulldogs finished the eliminations on top with a 12-2 card and only need to beat the Falcons once to advance against the Blue Eagles. 

Ateneo overcame a two-set hole to bundle out Far Eastern University, 23-25, 19-25, 25-17, 28-26, 15-13, in last Sunday’s Final Four duel to advance to the Finals for the first time since 1980.

Adamson is coming off a 25-20, 27-25, 25-23 win over La Salle in a playoff for the last semifinals berth last week.