MANILA, Philippines – In an auspicious start to the Sherwin Meneses era, defending champion NU Lady Bulldogs swept the De La Salle Lady Spikers, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, February 16.
Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon, who are widely expected to conclude their collegiate stint this year, combined for 27 points in a game which concluded after just 90 minutes of play.
“We really worked hard since the start of training, we’re happy that we were able to apply what we learned since then,” Solomon, who put up 13 points, said in Filipino after the game.
Belen, who tallied a team-high 14 points, agreed with her teammate, saying that the team wants to shake off its lackadaisical ways.
“We wanted our first game to be good right off the bat and we wanted to be more feisty against a gritty La Salle team,” said Belen.
NU dominated the whole match, except for a short stretch in the first set where the Lady Bulldogs surrendered a 5-0 run and saw the Lady Spikers pull level at 23-all.
Fortunately for NU, Sheena Toring nailed a quick attack and Shevana Laput committed an error as the Lady Bulldogs took a 1-0 set lead.
La Salle’s offense faltered in the second and third sets, with the team coughing up 18 errors.
Laput carried the Lady Spikers’ offense with a game-high 18 points, while Angel Canino put up an uncharacteristic 7 points in the loss.
Amie Provido’s service error ended the match, which drew 16,624 spectators at the seaside venue.
“We will not falter to tell our players what to work on, to make our games easier,” Meneses said.
“Us coaches will work doubly hard to improve our team during training.”
NU shoots for a 2-0 start against the Ateneo Blue Eagles at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan on Wednesday, February 19, while La Salle tries to earn its first win against the Adamson Lady Falcons on Saturday, February 22, at the Mall of Asia Arena. – Rappler.com