Four teams, two schools, and one goal.

National University and University of Santo Tomas forged a historic Finals duels in the UAAP Season 86 men’s and women’s volleyball tournaments on Saturday, May 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Lady Bulldogs and the Golden Tigresses will bring their developing rivalry on center stage at 4 p.m. in Game 1 of their best-of-three championship series following the 2 p.m. rematch between their men’s counterparts.

In the highly-anticipated women’s action, MVP candidates Bella Belen and Angge Poyos are expected to let it all out on the floor with equally reliable co-stars on their sides wrapping up loose ends and providing ample support.

The two squads split the results in the eliminations, with NU getting back at UST in the second round after suffering a sweeping loss at its hands in the opening day of the tournament which, in turn, set the tone for the latter’s campaign all season long.

While the Golden Tigresses completed a rare first round sweep, the Lady Bulldogs peaked just at the right time after an equally impressive undefeated run in the second round to keep things pretty leveled among themselves.

UST’s path to its first finals appearance in five years was not easy as it had defending champion De La Salle standing in its way in their semifinal showdown, which it disposed of while keeping its twice-to-beat advantage untouched.

Meanwhile, NU found itself on a slight detour as it was pushed against the wall and dragged into a do-or-die match by a feisty challenger that was fourth-seeded Far Eastern University before finally booking its third straight finals appearance.

But all’s well that ends well for both teams as it has now come down to this, with no clear advantage for one side or significant gap between themselves, only the best gets to call itself the champion.

However different the standings say, the same thing can be said for defending champion NU and No. 4 seed UST in the men’s play.

The Bulldogs, who are contending in their ninth consecutive championship series after taking down the Green Spikers in the playoff for the last twice-to-beat bonus and Final Four match, have some score to settle with the Golden Spikers, whom they haven’t defeated at all this season.

Two of NU’s three losses in the eliminations came from UST thanks to likely back-to-back MVP sophomore Josh Ybañez leading the way through and through.

Ybañez, still in a league of his own, lifted the No. 4 seed España crew past top-ranked FEU which they had to beat twice in order to keep the redemption bid on track.

UST’s women’s squad last lifted the coveted collegiate trophy 14 years ago in Season 72, while its men’s team saw its four-peat snap in Season 73.

With over a decade of drought to end, the España squads refused to leave empty-handed after a season-long hard work of beating the odds.

On the other hand, the Lady Bulldogs are drawing inspiration from their recent Season 84 title victory in 2022 that ended a 65-year drought before briefly losing the trophy to the Lady Spikers the following year.

NU’s men’s team, for its part, is gunning for a four-peat after stretching its dominant streak in the tournament to over a decade, winning five titles out of past eight straight finals appearances.