Last season’s Rookie-Most Valuable Player Bella Belen and graduating libero Jen Nierva turned the hard lessons into personal improvements after being benched in National University's four-set win over University of the Philippines last March 8.

The duo, who was part of the crew that swept Season 84 all the way to the finals, found themselves in a bind following the Lady Bulldogs’ five-set beating at the hands of the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses last March 4 which saw their 20-game win run come to an end.

On top of the major upset they just went through, NU was obviously reeling from the loss that it dropped its opening set against UP the following week before coming to its senses and eventually bouncing back.

With the turn of events, Belen and Nierva knew something had to change within themselves before they could return to their reliable form.

“Coming into this game, ‘yong mindset ko lang is to really play my role kasi nu’ng game namin sa UP and dami kong learnings na ang dami kong iniisip to the point na hindi ako naka-focus kung ano nasa harap ko. I’m happy na nung chinange ko 'yong mindset ko naging mas maganda 'yong outcome hindi lang sa laro ko but sa team namin,” said the league's reigning Best Receiver Nierva.

“Parang naging motivation siya personally sa akin na i-[improve] ‘yong game ko kasi hindi ako nakapaglaro nung game against UP na parang sabi ko hindi naman ako ganito. Balik lang ako doon sa goal ng team namin and ano 'yong goal ko this season,” added Belen.

For NU head tactician Karl Dimaculangan, he had no doubt that Belen and Nierva would eventually come around and get back on their feet.

“Kilala ko naman sila and alam ko na babawi at babawi sila. In that game lang siguro kung pag-usapan natin kami naman sa team naiintindihan nila 'yon and gagawin din naman nila lahat para manalo kami. Happy naman ako na nakabawi sila sa game,” said Dimaculangan after their straight-set victory over University of the East last March 12, where they improved 4-1 in the standings.

However, the defending champion has to put the unfortunate turn of events behind them as it guns for a strong first-round finish.

Standing in NU’s way are Far Eastern University and De La Salle as they are set to meet on March 18 and 22, respectively.

The progressing Lady Tamaraws hold an even record of 3-3, while the Lady Spikers remained as the top seed after five starts with no dent to its name.

“Kinausap ko naman ‘yong team, sabi ko before matapos tong first round, naging one game at a time and bago namin isipin ‘yong La Salle kailangan mag-perform muna kami sa FEU. So magpe-prepare kami ng mabuti sa FEU before mas humirap iyong kalaban namin. Before tapusin iyong first round,” Dimaculangan concluded.