MANILA, Philippines – The NU Lady Bulldogs are more than just their go-to players.
All 12 rotation players scored for NU as it stretched its winning streak in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament with a 25-13, 25-19, 25-16 sweep of the UE Lady Warriors at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, March 10.
Except for their two liberos, the Lady Bulldogs drew scoring contributions from their entire 14-man squad in a concerted effort to spread the wealth.
“We’re happy because we saw that anyone in the team can contribute. In our team, we’re not building star players. We all want to succeed with no one left behind,” said Belen in Filipino.
The Season 84 rookie MVP, Belen paced NU in its fifth consecutive victory as she fired 11 points built on 10 attacks and 1 block.
Belen hardly needed to carry the offensive cudgels, with five of her teammates scoring at least 5 points and the other six putting up at least 2 points.
Vange Alinsug backstopped Belen with 9 points followed by Aishat Bello (7 points), Alyssa Solomon (5 points), Nathasza Bombita (5 points), and Arah Panique (5 points).
In contrast, only five players scored for the Lady Warriors as they fell to 1-5.
For Belen, the balanced attack bodes well for NU as it continues to build momentum after starting the season with a surprising sweep loss at the hands of unbeaten league leaders UST Golden Tigresses.
“I think we’re still not on our peak,” said Belen. “The season is still long. It is not ideal to peak this early. We’re taking it slow.”
Riding high on their stellar run, the Lady Bulldogs will have their mettle tested as they go up against defending champion La Salle Lady Spikers in their first UAAP encounter since the Season 85 finals.
“La Salle is a champion team. We know that it is not going to be easy,” said Belen.
Casiey Dongallo showed the way for UE with 11 points in the loss that marked the fifth consecutive for the struggling Lady Warriors. – Rappler.com
