NO SWEEP. 

University of the Philippines pulled off a major upset against the defending champions National University in a match that went the distance, 26-24, 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12, in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, Wednesday afternoon at the FIlOil Ecooil Centre in San Juan City.  

The Fighting Maroons remain undefeated for games played in this venue, previously defeating the FEU Lady Tamaraws during their round one encounter in four sets, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-23.

With this huge win, UP now improves to 4-5 and is currently sitting at fifth place.  Meanwhile, after starting the season undefeated at 8-0, this marked NU’s first loss of the season, but they remain as the top team with an 8-1 win-loss record.

The first set was a close one, with no team leading by more than three points throughout.  NU arrived at set point first, 24-23, from a Minierva Maaya kill block, but UP finished the set with a 3-0 run courtesy of two attacks from Niña Ytang, and an error from NU’s Alyssa Solomon.

In the second set, the Lady Bulldogs were leading by just four at 16-12 before pulling a 7-2 run to inch closer to a set win at 23-14.  However, the Fighting Maroons countered with a 5-0 run before NU’s Vange Alinsug sent her team to set point at 24-19.  The run didn’t stop for the Fighting Maroons, as they staged another 4-0 run, from an NU setting error, and three consecutive points from Ytang to bring the game closer at 24-23. However, Alinsug hit the final blow to tie the game at one set apiece.

Gaining momentum from the second set, UP had a slim lead at 8-7. However, NU launched 9-2 run to lead by six at 16-10. A series of errors from UP pulled NU closer to winning the third frame, which they eventually won via a service ace from reigning MVP Bella Belen.

With NU leading by as much as six points at the start of the fourth set at 13-7, the Fighting Maroons clawed their way out until finally tying the set at 18-all via a Kianne Olango service ace.  From that point on, UP and NU just exchanged points, one after the other, to reach 23-all.  The Fighting Maroons eventually won the set with back-to-back kills from Olango and Ytang.

The fifth set was once again tightly contested, with no team leading by more than two points. A Solomon kill block against UP’s Joan Monares brought NU to 12-11, but the Fighting Maroons launched a 4-0 run to  edge the Lady Bulldogs out, courtesy of a middle attack from Ytang,  two crucial errors from Solomon, before an out-of-system hit from Monares delivered the victory to Diliman.

For the second straight match, all UP starters scored in double digits.  Defending 2nd best middle blocker Niña Ytang became the first Fighting Maroon to score at least 30 points post-pandemic, a record that former UP team captain Tots Carlos held last UAAP Season 80, after scoring 32 points against UST.  Joan Monares contributed 16 points, all from attacks, while veteran spiker Irah Jaboneta had another triple-double performance, her third straight this season, tallying 10 points, 13 digs, and 19 receptions at 50% efficiency.  Former NU Lady Bullpups Bienne Bansil and Kianne Olango finished with 10 points each.

Meanwhile, Bella Belen was the top scorer for NU, tallying 21 points from 16 attacks and 5 service aces, while Alyssa Solomon supported with 19 points, from 15 attacks, 3 kill blocks and 1 service ace.

The Fighting Maroons will try to establish another win streak when they face the UE Lady Warriors on Sunday, 1PM, while the Lady Bulldogs will try to bounce back as they battle the FEU Lady Tamaraws on the same day at 3PM. Both games will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

This UP Fighting Maroons Club post is made in partnership with Jiang Nan Hotpot.