NATIONAL University gets its date with destiny when it seeks to complete a perfect season in the UAAP Season 84 women's volleyball tournament.
Can NU complete sweep?
It's going to be quite a feat for a young and spunky Lady Bulldogs squad led by Bella Belen, the favorite for the MVP and Rookie of the Year honors, fellow neophytes Alyssa Solomon, Lams Lamina, and Sheena Toring as they all attempt to deliver the first women's volleyball crown in Jhocson since 1957.
If NU indeed vanquish La Salle on Tuesday, it will become only the third team in the Final Four era to go undefeated for the whole season.
Curiously, La Salle was the first team to achieve the feat way back in UAAP Season 67.
Led by Season MVP Maureen Penetrante and parading a powerhouse crew featurung Manilla Santos, Michelle Datuin, setter Chie Saet, and libero Sharmaine Penano, the Lady Spikers were just on another level all tournament long.
The Ramil de Jesus-coached La Salle dominated the field winning all but three of its matches in straight sets.
The only exceptions from that Lady Spikers' dominant run were their two clashes against Ateneo, which were led by Charo Soriano, Patti Taganas, and Karla Bello, and their final match against University of Santo Tomas, which was spearheaded by Kate Co Yu Kang, Venus Bernal, Joyce Pano, and that season's Rookie of the Year Mary Jean Balse.
In that final assignment, Penetrante and co. carried La Salle to a hard fought 25-15, 15-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10 win over UST back in Sept. 11, 2004 at the UP College of Human Kinetics Gym to nab its 14th straight victory and claim the women's volleyball crown outright.
It turned out to be the second of a three-peat for the Lady Spikers before the school was suspended in 2007.
It took a little over a decade before that run of perfection was repeated, this time by the Ateneo Lady Eagles in UAAP Season 77.
Bannered by Season MVP Alyssa Valdez and also armed with key cogs like Amy Ahomiro, Jia Morado, Michelle Morente, Bea de Leon, and Denden Lazaro, the Katipunan spikers certainly flexed their muscles among the field, sweeping 10 of their 14 matches in the eliminations to automatically advance to the Finals.
Armed with a thrice-to-beat advantage, the Tai Bundit-mentored Ateneo still had to overcome a tough La Salle team led by Mika Reyes and Majoy Baron in the championship series. The Lady Spikers, though, missed the services of Ara Galang for the Final due to a knee injury.
Still, the Lady Eagles were motivated to complete their goals, taking Game One, 25-18, 25-19, 25-19, in March 11, 2015 at Smart Araneta Coliseum, before finally grabbing that brass ring with a 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 Game Two sweep in March 14, 2015 at Mall of Asia Arena to end the season with a perfect 16-0 slate.
Ahomiro was adjudged as the Finals MVP as Ateneo accomplished its goals of capturing back-to-back women's volleyball crowns.
Will NU follow suit? That's the burning question heading into Game Two.
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