NATIONAL U waved the gold and blue, and won Jhocson the crown again in two.
The Lady Bulldogs are back-to-back champions after dominating La Salle in straight sets, 25-19, 25-18, and 25-19 in Game 2 of the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball finals on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
NU match
NU’s fifth championship overall had both retention and redemption written all over it.
For starters, the Lady Bulldogs completed their first successful title defense in nearly nine decades as a pioneering UAAP member-school.
It first won the league title 71 years ago in Season 16 (1954) and would wait just three years before the next one in Season 19.
Then came a 65-year title drought that was finally broken through a masterful 16-game tournament by one of the greatest teams ever assembled in Season 84.
READ: Now-thrice MVP Bella Belen almost quit volleyball. Here's why
Leading the way to history then were super rookies-turned-superstars in now-three-time MVP Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon.
Those two aces - alongside rising winger Vange Alinsug, setter Lams Lamina, and libero Shaira Jardio - remained at the forefront of the attack, as they stamped their class all over traditional powerhouse Lady Spikers.
And as far as redemption goes, Belen & Co. gained a measure of revenge over their Season 85 finals tormentors hailing from Taft Ave.
La Salle's two-game title series sweep then, featuring the second-ever rookie-MVP in Angel Canino, swatted away National U’s first shot at back-to-back championships.
The Canino-led Lady Spikers continued to have all the answers against the blue-and-gold - until this year when the Lady Bulldogs grounded and pounded on their modern-day rivals with a four-game season sweep.
In total, NU has now won nine of its 15 matches vs. La Salle since the Belen-Solomon era in the collegiate ranks began three years ago.
For the Lady Spikers, this will be the first time in 15 years that the Ramil de Jesus side has missed out on a championship three times within a four-season stretch.
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