DEFENDING champion National University, in a short turnaround after falling to De La Salle in last Sunday’s Finals rematch, faces a struggling University of the Philippines today to kick off second-round action of the UAAP Season 88 collegiate women’s volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs’ challenge now is responding to a 21-25, 19-25, 25-19, 17-25 loss to the Lady Spikers and seeking revenge against their first-round tormentor, the Fighting Maroons, in the 3 p.m. main game.
Far Eastern University, which saw its three-match winning streak halted by a resurgent University of Santo Tomas, aims to regain its form in the 1 p.m. duel with last-place University of the East.
Every match matters in the second round. Except for a tough five-set win over Adamson, La Salle was dominant in completing a seven-match sweep of the first round.
Since 2004 (Season 68), when they won the championship outright via a 14-0 sweep under an old league rule, the Lady Spikers have swept the first round four more times, the most recent being 2023 when the Taft-based team claimed its 12th title.
With a 5-2 record, NU has already matched last season’s total losses in the eliminations. The Lady Bulldogs sit just a game ahead of the Lady Falcons, the Lady Tamaraws, and the Tigresses, all at 4-3, in the race for the No. 2 spot in the Final Four.
After a promising 3-1 start, UP lost its last three matches to drop to sixth place, its woes compounded by a season-ending injury to Casiey Dongallo. The Fighting Maroons will now play catch-up to keep their hopes alive of ending a 10-year Final Four drought.
Rookie Sam Cantada hopes to make an impact this time.
The Dasmariñas, Cavite native suffered a right shin injury after colliding with libero IC Cepada in the third set and never returned during NU’s tough 25-16, 25-16, 22-25, 29-31, 16-18 loss to UP last Feb. 18. Cantada is the Lady Bulldogs’ second-best scorer behind last season’s co-Finals MVP Vange Alinsug.
Niña Ytang will try to lift the Fighting Maroons, joining forces with Jelai Gajero, who is working doubly hard to fill the gaps left by fellow California Academy alum Dongallo.
Despite ending the first round with a loss to UST, FEU remains hopeful for a third consecutive Final Four appearance. The Lady Tamaraws, however, need to play with a sense of urgency against a winless Lady Warriors team eager to achieve a breakthrough.
In the men’s division, unbeaten FEU shoots for an eighth straight victory against UE at 9 a.m., while six-peat-seeking NU looks to break away from a tie with UST in second place as it faces UP at 11 a.m.
