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The Lady Bulldogs haven’t celebrated like this after a game in two weeks. —UAAP PHOTO
From seemingly not coming close to losing a game last season, National University (NU) suddenly can’t win one of late.
The defending champion Lady Bulldogs, still licking the wounds of a rare two-game losing streak, get some sort of reprieve Saturday when the battle lowly University of the Philippines, looking for a win that would get them back on track in Season 85 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Not that the Lady Maroons are pushovers, but National U won’t be tackling one of the favorites in the 12noon game, although University of the Philippines (UP) won a set over the Lady Bulldogs in a 18-25, 25-17, 25-11, 25-11 defeat.
Ugly defeats
NU Lady Bulldogs during a play against La Salle Lady Spikers. –UAAP PHOTO
Those two straight defeats were dealt by unbeaten La Salle in a four-day span, defeats that were so ugly that it could have taken some confidence out of the Lady Bulldogs as they are now in fourth spot, quite uncharacteristic for a team that was untouched all of last season.
National U’s third loss of the season—it’s first since 2020—was dealt by University of Santo Tomas in the first round.
“We need to rediscover ourselves, our hunger,” reigning MVP Bella Belen had said before the second of those two setbacks. They have another chance to do that against the Lady Maroons and hopefully, touch off a run and stay close to the leading Lady Spikers.
Meanwhile, Adamson tries to stay in second spot when it battles dangerous Ateneo with both sides coming off wins to open their respective second round campaigns.
The Lady Eagles are two games out of fourth spot, the last that will advance to the next round and they know that they cannot afford any more stumbles from hereon.
“Every win matters in the second round, but what matters more is our performance as a team and how much our desire is to win,” said Ateneo skipper Faith Nisperos. “We need to challenge ourselves, push hard every time and defy our limits.”
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