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UAAP volleyball: NU locks Final Four ticket with straight-sets ouster over UP

The National University Lady Bulldogs finally secured the third Final Four ticket with a convincing straight-sets win over the UP Lady Fighting Maroons, 25-21, 25-16, 25- 15 at the Filoil Flying V Arena Sunday afternoon.

Jaja Santiago scored at will with 17 points and 4 blocks while Myla Pablo racked up 12 points. In addition, Jorelle Singh had 10 points and 6 digs.

For the Lady Maroons, Marian Buitre and Nicole Tiamzon both dropped 8 points apiece while Arianne Ilustre, Angeli Araneta, and Vina Alinas all contributed 4 points.

“Napakaganda ng mga nilaro ng mga bata ngayon,” said NU head coach Roger Gorayeb. “Kung compare ko to every game we played, ito ang pinakagusto ko.”

UP came out lock and loaded in the opening moments of the game in their attempt to gain momentum early. However, NU was even more prepared as their stingy defense kept the Lady Maroons at bay. The Lady Bulldogs easily won the first two sets of the match.

Santiago would then go full blast in the third set to immediately give NU a 17-12 lead.  UP fought back and tried to keep pace with NU after Ilustre’s spike trimmed the opposition’s lead to 19-15.

With the win within their sights, the Lady Bulldogs would then score the final six points of the game to formally announce their entry in this year’s Final Four.

“It will still be dangerous in the semifinals, who knows?” Gorayeb added. “Ang Ateneo nga last year di ba? May stepladder and yet tinalo nila ang NU na twice-to-beat tapos thrice-to-beat naman ‘yung sa La Salle. Sana, if God will permit, maduplicate namin.”

Showing their vastly improved game under Gorayeb’s watch, the Lady Bulldogs had all things clicking for them. NU owned the defensive showdown against UP as they racked up 9 blocks, 4 from Santiago and 2 from Desiree Dadang, and also had 28 more digs as opposed to UP’s 21.

NU also had their way in the offensive side as they had 36 attack points while UP only managed to have 21.

With the Lady Maroons eliminated from the Final Four cast, it will now be a playoff game for the last Final Four ticket between the UST Golden Tigresses and the FEU Lady Tamaraws this Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.  The Lady Bulldogs will face the winner of the said match come the stepladder semifinals.

The scores:

NU (3) – Santiago 17, My. Pablo 12, Singh 10, Dadang 3, Mandapat 3, Doria 1, Soliven 1, Doromal 1, Ma. Pablo 0, General (L) 0, Valdez (L) 0.

UP (0) – Tiamzon 8, Buitre 8, Alinas 4, Araneta 4, Ilustre 4, Ortiz 0, Mangulabnan 0, Estranero (L) 0.