NU belles near crown

MANILA, Philippines - National University inched closer to capturing its first ever UAAP girls volleyball crown as it upended defending champion University of Santo Tomas, 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, yesterday in the Season 77 Finals opener at the Adamson University Gym.

Jasmine Nabor and Faith Nisperos delivered the key hits in the fourth frame to give the Junior Lady Bullpups the upperhand in the best-of-three series.

Ateneo, meanwhile, defeated NU in the boys division, 25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17, sending its stepladder semifinals to a deciding game on Thursday at 12 noon.

University of the East, the reigning 10-time boys champion, will have to wait a little longer to determine its opponent in the finals. The Junior Warriors clinched an outright championship berth for winning all of their 12 elimination round matches.

NU can wrap things up with another victory in Game 2, also on Thursday at 2 p.m.

The Junior Lady Bulldogs hope to erase the memory of last season’s debacle when they won the finals opener before the Junior Tigresses, led by EJ Laure, swept the next two and the championship.