NU Lady Bulldogs’ star Bella Belen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
This is a battle that has been waged for years on high school grounds. This time, National University (NU) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) elevated their rivalry to the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball Final.
“It crossed our minds that if NU would win in the do-or-die game [against Far Eastern U], it’s going to be … high school all over again,” sophomore spiker Reg Jurado told the Inquirer during the Tigresses’ practice Thursday evening.
“I hope this time, it’s a good outcome,” she added.
UAAP SCHEDULE: Season 86 volleyball Finals UST vs NU
The Lady Bulldogs have beaten the Tigresses in every championship showdown over the last few seasons in girls volleyball, and it’s something Santo Tomas hopes to change as they face off for the first time for the seniors’ crown.
The only Santo Tomas standout who won a title series against NU in the juniors’ division is Cassie Carballo, the astute setter who was part of the La Salle-Zobel squad that shocked the vaunted National U high school program in Season 81.
Carballo, Angel Canino and Alleiah Malaluan led the junior Lady Spikers against the current NU seniors core.
The seniors’ level is different,” Carballo said. “I know that my opponents before, like Belle (Belen), they also improved. So, we’ll fight until the end.”
All the high school nostalgia dripping from this season’s championship pairing comes from the fact that both National and Santo Tomas have managed to keep the core of their high school programs somewhat intact in this UAAP era of player transfers.
Homegrown rosters
National’s current roster features 11 players from its high school squad, including Belen, Alyssa Solomon, Vange Alinsug, Lams Lamina, and Erin Pangilinan.
Santo Tomas meanwhile, has eight of its 14 players coming from its high school program.
The Golden Tigresses drew first blood this season, stunning the Lady Bulldogs with a sweep. But National got back in the second round with a four-set win, one which taught Santo Tomas a lot of lessons.
“I am hoping we can correct our mistakes [in the second meeting],” said team skipper and libero Detdet Pepito.
“In [our first game], we were really loose,” Pepito added. “We didn’t want to do anything but play. We enjoyed the moment because it was our first game [of the season]. But in the second round, the pressure was already there. And we were beating teams. We had a sweep of the first round and people were saying things about us.”
Jurado agreed.
“Maybe the thought that people did not have high expectations of us was a factor [in the first round],” she said. “So it brought fuel [for us because] we’ve got nothing to lose.
“But in [the second] round, it hit us that we have a big chance of winning the trophy or whatever that we can achieve as a team. Maybe that’s why there’s pressure now.”
‘Our chances are good’
But the Tigresses are confident they can snap UST’s 14-year title drought.
“I think our chances are good against NU because I have confidence in my teammates, and in how we’ve been performing during our training,” Carballo said.
“We just need consistency with the things our coaches ask us to do. We lost some consistency [in the loss to NU in the second round]. And we lost some of our aggressiveness.”
The odds are very much against the Tigresses, who have known nothing but defeat against this current batch of Lady Bulldogs. But they remain unfazed.
“We already proved in the first round that we can beat them,” Jurado said.
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“We’ll just try to bring back that performance, and for sure, we have a big chance of winning the championship.”