Metro Manila, Philippines – The National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs secured the second seed and an outright spot in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball stepladder semifinals following a reverse sweep of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses, 19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-13, on Wednesday, April 22, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The Lady Bulldogs kept their championship composure and fought back hard after being down 0-2 in the crucial contest.
“I’m very proud of them because even though we were coming from a loss and we were fatigued already from that, we pushed through this game and locked in the second rank,” NU head coach Regine Diego after their win.
Arah Panique led the attack for the Lady Bulldogs with 24 points, while rookie sensation Sam Cantada added 20 points for the Sampaloc-based squad.
Angge Poyos and Regina Jurado carried the Golden Tigresses with 24 points and 21 points, respectively.
UST will take on the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws for the fourth and final semifinals spot on Saturday, April 25, at the Big Dome, with the winner facing third seed Adamson University Lady Falcons in the next phase.
The victory gave NU a bye in the stepladder semifinals, which means it will battle the remaining team for a spot in the finals, where the De La Salle University Lady Spikers are waiting after going 14-0 in the elimination round.
