MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors got their second-round campaign off to a good start after a lackluster first-round performance in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament.

UE came out with a vengeance and hacked out a four-set win over the National Univerisity (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 25-16, 25-18, 24-26, 25-16, on Wednesday, March 20, at the Filoil Flying V Centre. 

The victory put UE in a tie with NU at 6th with a 2-6 record. 

Judith Abil impressed with a triple-double output of 19 points, 31 excellent digs and 21 excellent receptions.

Player of the Game Lai Bendong made 38 excellent sets while posting 7 points.

“Kailangang-kailangan namin ’yung panalo talaga, kasi sayang naman, lalo na for the graduating players,” said head coach Karl Dimaculangan.

“Ang ano lang namin is kung hindi man kami aabot sa Final Four, ilaban lang sana namin yung rank namin na hindi na kami laging No. 8 for ilang years.”

(We really needed this win because it would’ve been a wasted opportunity especially for our graduating players. If we can’t make it to the Final Four, then at least we’ll aim to improve on our ranking and make sure we’re not No.8 again.)

Princess Robles led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points all from spikes, which was clearly not enough as NU committed a total of 39 errors.

In the first round, the rookie-laden Lady Bulldogs overwhelmed the Lady Warriors with a straight-set win. 

But the Lady Warriors came out looking sharper this time and overpowered NU – which conceded a total of 17 errors in the first two sets – as attackers Me-an Mendrez and Judith Abil led the charge. 

The Lady Bulldogs had a fighting chance in the 3rd set as they took a slim 8-7 lead in the first technical timeout thanks to a 3-0 spurt.

But errors plagued NU again which cost them the lead and UE looked to be in control as the Lady Warriors raced to match point, 24-18.

However, just like their classic game-winner against UP, the Lady Bulldogs came up with an 8-0 blast to keep the game alive and steal the set, 26-24. 

The Lady Bulldogs tried to put up a fight again early in the 4th set, but UE started to pull away, 20-14, to seal the win. – Rappler.com