Crucial women’s volleyball matches up

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

8 a.m. – UE vs UST (men)

10 a.m. – UP vs ADMU (men)

2 p.m. – UE vs NU (women)

4 p.m. – UP vs AdU (women)

MANILA, Philippines - Three struggling teams try to join idle UST at third in vital matches today in the UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

University of the Philippines and Adamson University clash at 4 p.m., while National University takes on winless University of the East at 2 p.m.

The Lady Maroons, Lady Falcons and the Lady Bulldogs are tied at 4-6, trailing the Tigresses (5-6) by half a game, in what shapes up to be a fierce battle for the other two slots in the Final Four.

Assured so far of not only of semifinals slot but also the twice-to-beat bonus are unbeaten Ateneo and second-running De La Salle. Unbeaten in 11 games, the defending champion Lady Eagles are on track for jumping straight to the Finals with a thrice-to-beat incentive by sweeping their last three elimination round matches.

La Salle has a 10-1 mark.

The Lady Maroons overcame the Lady Falcons, 22-25, 25-21, 29-27, 34-32, in their first meeting last Jan. 7, in a game where middle hitter Kathy Bersola went down with a season-ending ACL injury.

Adamson can’t guarantee of avenging its first round loss, as UP still has a lot of weapons on its arsenal with Marian Buitre now taking over the spot of Bersola, Nicole Tiamzon and Angeli Araneta.

The Lady Maroons lost to the Lady Spikers and the Lady Eagles in succession, putting their Final Four bid in peril.

The Lady Falcons hope to follow up their easy 25-15, 25-22, 25-18 win over the Lady Warriors last Wednesday.

It was a tough second round for the Lady Bulldogs as they lost three straight, which came after opening the coach Roger Gorayeb era with two consecutive wins.

But NU still needs to play hard against UE, which improved its level of play in the second round, going far by even winning a set against Far Eastern University two weeks ago. 

The Lady Warriors are 0-10 this season.

In the men’s division, last season’s runner-up Ateneo shoots for the first Final Four slot against UP at 10 a.m. right after the UST-UE duel at 8 a.m.