NATIONAL University’s Bella Belen has been named the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball MVP — her second in three seasons after winning the same honor in the Lady Bulldogs’ title-winning tournament sweep in Season 84.
Belen became only the fifth multiple MVP after Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez (Seasons 76 to 78), La Salle’s Aby Maraño (Seasons 74 and 75) and Desiree Hernandez (Seasons 66 and 68) and Far Eastern University’s Ailyn Ege (Seasons 63 to 65).
READ: Bella Belen says failed title defense fuels NU revenge tour
Just like in Season 84, Belen was feted as the 1st Best Outside Hitter concurrent to winning the MVP plum.
In NU’s elimination round campaign en route to the No. 1 seed at 12-2 (win-loss), Belen ranked second in receiving (48.3% efficiency), sixth in spiking (36.53% efficiency) and digging (3.2 digs per set), seventh in scoring (205 points) and eighth in serving (0.22 aces per set).
With 296 statistical points (SPs), the Lady Bulldogs ace nipped University of. Sto. Tomas super rookie Angge Poyos (294 SPs) to end the two-year run of rookie-MVPs in UAAP women’s volleyball.
Poyos emerged as the runaway Rookie of the Year after leading the league in serving (0.41 aces per set), second in scoring (290 points) and third in spiking (40.79% efficiency). This comes on top of being named as the season’s 2nd Beest Outside Hitter.
UST’s top scorer, who went down with a right ankle injury in Game One of the Finals, joined the ranks of fellow Thomasian aces Eya Laure (Season 81), Milena Alessandrini (Season 80), EJ Laure (Season 77), Lilet Mabbayad (Season 67) and Ging Balse (Season 66) to win top rookie honors.
University of the East’s breakout rookie star Casiey Dongallo finished second in the ROY race with 232 SPs.
The top two middle blockers from Season 85 retained their distinctions this seasons as La Salle’s Thea Gagate (0.77 blocks per set) and University of the Philippines’ Niña Ytang (0.67 blocks per set) are once again named 1st and 2nd Best Middle Blockers respectively.
NU’s Alyssa Solomon reclaimed her spot as the tournament’s Best Opposite Hitter for the first time since Season 84. She finished the elimination round as the league-leader in spiking (41.61% efficiency) and sixth in scoring (207 points) and serving (0.26 aces per set).
Trailing Solomon in the top utility spiker race were La Salle’s Shevana Laput (189 SPs), UST’s Reg Jurado (181 SPs) and FEU’s Faida Bakanke (169 SPs).
Two more Tigresses join this year’s awards circle as team captain Detdet Pepito copped back-to-back Best Libero nods, while lead playmaker Cassie Carballo scored her first-ever Best Setter nod — the first for UST since Denise Tan (Season 69).
Pepito led the tournament in both digging (4.20 digs per set) and receiving (55.45% efficiency) as she bested Adamson’s Karen Verdeflor (191 SPs), NU’s Shaira Jardio (175 SPs) and UP’s Yesha Capistrano (171 SPs).
Carballo finished the prelims first in setting (4.55 excellent sets per game) and second in serving (0.41 aces per set) to outlast La Salle’s Julia Coronel (227 SPs), UP’s Heart Magsombol (193 SPs) and FEU’s Tin Ubaldo (183 SPS).
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