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MANILA, Philippines – The UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball championship series will pit two familiar foes as the NU Lady Bulldogs and the La Salle Lady Spikers face off for the third time in four seasons starting Sunday, May 11.
NU, coming off a dominant Season 86 finals sweep of UST, gun for a title trifecta after also completing an undefeated Season 84 run with a two-game finals conquest of La Salle in 2022.
This marks the Lady Bulldogs’ fourth straight finals, only falling to the Lady Spikers’ Season 85 revenge campaign in 2023.
Before the start of this much-anticipated finals, Rappler sought to know what made these two teams tick and what could be the deciding factor for the Lady Bulldogs in the anticipated best-of-three championship series.
Former La Salle captain and current PVL and Alas Pilipinas standout Julia Coronel and UP volleyball program director Oliver Almadro provided insight and the two laid out the reasons why the NU Lady Bulldogs will repeat and send off their stars with a bang.
Explosive scoring
Without a doubt, the most powerful scorers don the NU blue and gold. Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, and Vange Alinsug have provided a lethal offensive punch for the defending champion, to the tune of a combined 50.5 points per game.
The three are the only trio to be in the top 10 players in total scoring with Belen at fifth (270), Solomon at seventh (239), and Alinsug at eighth (198).
Their bench has also provided flashes of excellence, particularly against lower-level opponents.
The team also leads the league in four departments, namely spiking (35.8% efficiency), service (1.57 aces/set), setting (6.17 excellent/set), and reception (39.8% efficiency).
Playmaking
UAAP Season 84 Best Setter Lams Lamina, again a frontrunner to win the Season 87 award, averages 5.33 excellent sets per frame.
NU, as a whole, also leads the league in that department with 6.17 per set, borrowing a system that has been tried and tested in foreign leagues.
“They have a fast-setting system. They were able to adopt it from other Asian countries, Japan, Thailand, and that’s what they’ve been going for, I remember, ever since Season 84,” said Coronel, herself a setter.
“That’s what changed in the system, and it’s working for them really, really well.”
X-factors
Almadro cited the Lady Bulldogs’ comeback win against FEU in the Final Four, where Mata, and Maaya helped Alinsug down the stretch to extend the game to the deciding fifth set.
“I guess it will boil down to who defended well, who had the hustle in terms of 50-50 balls, who will be the most consistent one in terms of out-of-system and break ball,” said the former UAAP champion coach once mentored by La Salle great Ramil de Jesus.
Chemistry
The Lady Bulldogs are quite fortunate that the core of this team has been playing together in the same school for almost a decade.
Most of the team, including Lamina and Erin Pangilinan, were with the three scorers since the girls’ volleyball tournament, where the team won titles.
“It’s really their connection that they’ve built throughout the years, and you’d also see their grit, their maturity, and intelligence in playing,” Coronel said.
“Since they know each other well, they are able to explore more things as a team, and over the years, I’ve seen how smarter they have been playing,” added Coronel, who suited up for La Salle from Seasons 82 to 86.
Despite having four different head coaches since high school — Regine Diego, Karl Dimaculangan, Norman Miguel, and Sherwin Meneses — the core’s consistency has been a testament to the players’ game IQ.
The MVPs
Belen, a two-time MVP, and Solomon, the Season 86 Finals MVP, are not one-dimensional scorers, as they have a variety of moves in their arsenal.
“In terms of attacking, you don’t see them just hitting the ball hard, there are times that they shift, and do drop balls,” said Coronel.
“They know where to send the ball to, it’s astounding to see how Bella does her thing in floor defense, both in receiving and digging, she’s an all-around player, I have no words.”
The two are also battle-tested in every way as they have faced more serious competition as key members of Alas Pilipinas, where they have faced the Southeast Asian region’s best in international competitions. – Rappler.com
