MANILA, Philippines — The National University Lady Bulldogs sent a message to the league with their opening day victory, albeit not a stronger one than expected.
The Lady Bulldogs needed four sets to turn back the much-improved Adamson Lady Falcons, 25-15, 25-23, 16-25, 25-13, in the opening day of the 80th UAAP women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
For new head coach Babes Castillo, what they need to work on is something that NU had been struggling with for years — consistency.
"How can we produce consistently? It goes back to conditioning," he said.
"We wanted to produce more on the third set pero makikita mo, kumbaga sa battery, medyo bumaba ng onti."
Jaja Santiago, who is on her last playing year, was her usual MVP self, producing 16 points built on 11 attacks, four blocks and an ace.
Chiara Permentilla and Mylene Paat both finished in double digits producing 12 and 11 points, respectively. But their performance was not enough to grab the victory.
The Lady Bulldogs will next face the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying-V Centre in San Juan.