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MANILA, Philippines – National University and Far Eastern University stayed on track of their title hunt in the 2024 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals.
The NU Lady Bulldogs booked a quarterfinal seat after crushing Xavier University-Northern Mindanao, 25-15, 25-13, 25-13, to complete a Pool A sweep of the collegiate volleyball pocket tournament on Friday, July 12, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Showing they’re the reigning UAAP champions, the Lady Bulldogs barely broke a sweat in claiming their second straight victory despite sitting out most of their stars, including Alas Pilipinas members Bella Belen and Arah Panique.
Aishat Bello and Vange Alinsug took care of business in leading the NU’s balanced offense to move on to the knockout quarterfinals.
The FEU Lady Tamaraws also punched their quarterfinal ticket after booting out Lyceum of the Philippines University, 25-15, 25-13, 25-12, to sweep Pool C.
Lovely Lopez fired 9 of her 10 points off attacks while Melody Pons and Jean Asis scored 7 each for the unbeaten Lady Tamaraws, who will square off against the No.2 seed in Pool B in the next round.
NU head coach Norman Miguel said, though, that the Lady Bulldogs have more to improve despite their dominant showing.
“We’re happy that we won even without the senior players, but we saw complacency in their performance,” said Miguel. “This is still a problem within the team – the tendency to relax when their opponents are under skilled. That’s what I told them. That’s not good for me.”
“But nevertheless, it’s good that the players stepped up, especially Vange, Abe Pono with the help of Erin Pangilinan,” he added. “Our rookies played good today.”
Bello fired 9 points, including 4 aces for NU, while Alinsug added 8 points from 6 kills and 2 kill blocks.
Young playmaker Abegail Pono held the fort as she took over orchestrating the Lady Bulldogs’ offensive flow as NU rested main setter Lams Lamina, as well as Sheena Toring.
Erin Pangilinan and Minerva Maaya scored 5 each for the Lady Bulldogs.
NU’s victory also gave Enderun Colleges, which it defeated in straight sets last Wednesday, a free ride into the next round.
The Lady Titans, who swept Xavier University, 25-12, 25-21, 25-18, last Thursday, will play Pool D’s top seed in the quarters.
Chrys Biongcog and Charity Rockwell posted 5 and 4 points, respectively, to pace Xavier University, which ended its campaign winless.
FEU, meanwhile, rained down 41 attack points and took advantage of the Lady Pirates’ poor reception to land 8 aces in the 73-minute volleyball clinic.
Ashley Muchillas had 5 points while Angelica Cruz, Joan de Guzman, and Marinel Sagayno added 4 each in a lost cause for the NCAA Season 99 third-placer Lyceum, which finished its stint winless.
The Lady Pirates suffered a four-set loss to USPF last Thursday. – Rappler.com
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