NO more chaos, no more complications for National U.
The two-time defending champions locked in the No. 2 seed with a reverse sweep of University of Santo Tomas, 19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-13, in the last match of UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball eliminations on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, NU avoided having to go through a playoff and instead, will now enjoy a bye.
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At the same time, Adamson settled in at No. 3 because of the result, while the Golden Tigresses are now bound for a knockout bout with Far Eastern University for the fourth seed on Saturday.
Vange Alinsug delivered in the clutch, scoring two of National U’s last three points in the decider to cap a 13-point, 10-dig outing.
Arah Panique led the charge with 24 points and six digs, while Sam Cantada added 20 points, 17 receptions, and nine digs in a complete performance to close the eliminations.
“I’m very proud of them because even though we were coming from a loss and we were fatigued already from that game, we came to push through in this game,” said head coach Regine Diego.
UST came out firing as Angge Poyos and Reg Jurado combined for 15 of the Golden Tigresses’ 25 points in the opening set, and along with Jonna Perdido, powered another 15-point effort in Set 2 to put NU on the brink.
But the Lady Bulldogs flipped the switch as after a costly foot fault handed UST the second set, Alinsug made up for it alongside Panique and Cantada, leading identical 25-18 wins in Sets 3 and 4 to force a decider.
UST even clawed back from a 7-11 deficit in Set 5, with Poyos tying it at 11-all, but errors crept in late. Three of the next six points came off miscues before Alinsug delivered the finishing blow, with UST unable to challenge a potential net touch.
Poyos paced the Tigresses with 24 points and nine digs, while Jurado added 21 points and 16 digs in a loss that sent UST to a playoff for the No. 4 seed on Saturday.
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