LIVE UPDATES: NU vs FEU – UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball Final Four

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League-leading NU eyes a quick entry to the finals, while fourth-seeded FEU hopes to drag the defending champions to a rubber match as they face off in the Final Four of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament for the second straight season

MANILA, Philippines – The defending champion NU Lady Bulldogs shoot for a quick entry to the finals when the Final Four of the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament kicks off at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, May 3. 

NU wrapped up the elimination round ahead of the pack with a 12-2 record to claim the No. 1 spot, which comes with a twice-to-beat bonus in the semifinals. 

Standing in the Lady Bulldogs’ way are the FEU Lady Tamaraws — who finished the eliminations tied with La Salle and UST at 9-5 — but dropped all the way to the fourth spot due to the superior set ratio of the Lady Spikers and the Tigresses. 

NU and FEU find themselves in a familiar position as both squads also faced each other in a same Final Four setup last season, where the fourth-seeded Lady Tamaraws dragged the eventual champions to a winner-take-all Game 2 clash before crashing out of the tournament. 

Odds are in the Lady Bulldogs’ favor heading into this Final Four showdown as they’ve won both their matches versus the Lady Tamaraws this season.

In the first round, NU overcame a gutsy stand by FEU for a thrilling 25-15, 23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-8 five-set win behind Alyssa Solomon’s 23 points and reigning MVP Bella Belen’s 21 markers.

The Lady Bulldogs then repeated over the Lady Tamaraws in four sets in their second-round encounter, 25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 25-18, thanks to a huge 30-point explosion by Solomon. 

Despite having FEU’s number this season, NU shouldn’t take the Tina Salak-mentored Lady Tamaraws lightly as they are coming off a confidence-boosting 25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 25-23 victory against La Salle in their final game of the eliminations last Saturday, April 26. 

Will NU finish off FEU right away or will the Lady Tamaraws live to fight another day?

First serve is at 2 pm. – Rappler.com