NU Lady Bulldogs start second round with sweep of Adamson Lady Falcons

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The National University Lady Bulldogs clinched their second straight victory to start the second round of eliminations as they swept Adamson, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19 on Wednesday, March 8 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Lady Falcons kept it close in the opening set, momentarily grabbing a 19-18 lead shortly after the second technical timeout. The Lady Bulldogs only started to pull away at the 20th mark as their foes collected a few reception as well as net errors.

The San Marcelino-based squad built an early 12-5 lead in the third, but failed to maintain it as Jaja Santiago- who ended up with a team-high 15 markers from 13 attacks and 2 blocks- and the rest of the Lady Bulldogs finished off strong in the endgame to take a 3-0 victory. 

Despite the sweep, NU head coach Roger Gorayeb believes his team has seen a higher level of play. “Mababa nilaro nila ngayon,” said Gorayeb as the Lady Bulldogs had to rally to seal the match in the third set. “Kailangan i-push ng player ang sarili nila. Alam naman nila ‘yung sitwasyon na ‘yan.” (They weren’t playing at a high level. The players need to push themselves. They know what kind of situation this is.) 

Jorelle Singh, who added 10 markers, provided ample support for the Lady Bulldogs especially in the spikes department, where they edged Adamson 36-28. 

Jema Galanza led the Lady Falcons with a team-high 15, all from attacks, while Bernadette Flora had 9.

With the win, the Lady Bulldogs move to a 5-3 slate, while Adamson settles for 0-8.

Scores: 

NU (3): Santiago 15, Singh 10, Urdas 5, Sato 4, Paran 3, Doromal 2, Nabor 2 

ADU (0): Galanza 15, Flora 9, Dacoron 4, Joaquin 3, Dahab 1, Caole 1 

– Rappler.com