Lady Bulldogs bite Lady Tams; stay in 2nd

By Anthony Divinagracia Posted Jan 18th 2014

National University (NU) kept its paws tucked among the leaders Saturday, but not without chewing resistance from an unrelenting Far Eastern University (FEU) side to grab its fifth straight win in the 76^th UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the San Juan Arena.

The Lady Bulldogs repeatedly dodged the Lady Tamaraws’ offensive horns in the homestretch to preserve a 25-18, 26-24, 25-23 victory.

Dindin Santiago fronted NU’s assault with a game-high 17 points including 16 hits, while Myla Pablo added 12 as the Lady Bulldogs solidified their hold of second place at 7-1.

As expected, the Lady Bulldogs led the attacks department, 50-29, with a balanced scoring drive fuelled by the Santiago sisters, Pablo, Mina Aganon, and Aiko Urdas.

But that hardly told the entire story which FEU penned from the get-go only to ran out of ink in the final stanzas.

FEU barged into the opening set with a 16-11 lead before the older Santiago waxed hot to chip away the deficit and eventually seize the upperhand, 20-18, for good.

Just like the first set, the Lady Tamaraws grabbed the initiative, 16-11. But the Santiago sisters along with Aganon and Urdas pegged the stops over the net to knot the count at 20-all.

Yet FEU quickly responded with a four-point swing behind Remy Palma to clinch set point, 24-22. NU then surprised the Lady Tamaraws’s defense with three straight points to grab a 25-24 edge beyond recall.

Both teams continued to engage in a nip-and-tuck affair in the third set.

With the score even at 16-all, the Lady Bulldogs piled up five straight points to regain the lead, 21-19. FEU responded with its own blitz to inch ahead, 23-22. But that proved to be the Lady Tamaraws’ last hurrah as Urdas and Aganon delivered the haymaker for NU at the turn.

Rookie Bernadette Pons and Marie Simborio tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively for FEU, which fell to 4-4.