National University held off Ateneo in the fourth set to eke out a 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-22 win and capture its second straight victory in the UAAP Season 84 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Saturday, May 7.
Princess Robles and Michaela Belen connived down the stretch and converted key points which enabled the Lady Bulldogs to get close to the Blue Eagles in the fourth frame.
Robles scored 18 points off 17 attacks and a block while Belen posted 16 spikes for 18 markers.
Alyssa Solomon chalked up 15 points, four coming from service aces, and Ivy Lacsina had 12 markers for NU.
“Siguro in terms of preparation lang siguro namin, 'yon 'yong naging malaking bagay sa amin,” said Lady Bulldogs head coach Karl Dimaculangan.
"Pero yung errors namin 'yon yong nagiging problema namin so i-address namin 'yon, kailangan naming mag-review. More on sa sarili namin or sa team namin 'yong naging problema," he added after his wards tallied 38 errors, mostly coming from the third set.
After three deadlocks, Belen stepped on the gas before Erin Pangilinan and Ivy Lacsina clamped down on their net defense and blocked Faith Nispero's potential game-tying attack en route to match point, 24-23.
The Katipunan-based squad couldn't stop the bleeding though as Belen scored a service ace for the win as the Lady Bulldogs improved to a 2-0 record while reigning champions Blue Eagles absorbed back-to-back losses at 0-2.
Ateneo recovered from its early slump and capitalized on the free points given up by the crumbling NU in the third frame.
The Lady Bulldogs, however, cut their four-point deficit just down to one, 23-22, but Faith Nisperos was quick to respond and put the Eagles at set point.
Nisperos was the lone Eagle to reach double-digits with 16 points off 15 attacks while Vannie Gandler chipped in nine points highlighted by eight spikes and a block.
NU faces De La Salle on Tuesday, May 10 at 4 p.m. while Ateneo hopes to bounce back against Adamson at 6 p.m.