Lady Bulldogs claim semis ‘incentive’

MANILA, Philippines —  Rampaging National U bullied its way to a twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four, completing a second-round wipeout with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-22 win over Far Eastern U in the penultimate elimination playdate of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Lady Bulldogs, who settled for third place in the first round with a 5-2 slate, broke their leash and let it loose with seven straight wins in the crucial second phase to finish in the Top Two with a 12-2 slate.

Included in the NU’s perfect campaign were revenge wins against reigning champion La Salle and surprise contender Santo Tomas – tied at 11-2 – which will slug it out Saturday for the last win-once bonus in the semis.

NU will wait for the result of that duel to determine its final seeding either at first or second after the tiebreaker.

Dynamic duo Alyssa Solomon and Bella Belen once again stood at the forefront of the NU attack with 13 and 12 points, respectively, as the Lady Bulldogs needed only 86 minutes to get the job done against sure No. 4 seed FEU, at 9-5.

Vange Alinsug (11) and team captain Erin May Pangilinan (10) produced key contributions while middle blocker Sheena Toring, who missed the finals last year due to a knee injury, added eight with three blocks.

Earlier, Ateneo (5-9) finished fifth with a 25-13, 25-17, 25-21 win over Adamson (3-11) in the women’s tourney as the Blue Eagles (7-7) secured the same placing in men’s with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 win over the Falcons (4-10).