MANILA, Philippines – The Shaina Nitura hype train reached a difficult turn at the penultimate game of the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball first round as defending champion NU put on a three-set defensive masterclass against reeling Adamson, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18, on Wednesday, March 12.
Leading the dominant win for the 6-0 record, Alyssa Solomon turned the Lady Falcons to her personal Korea audition tape with 22 big points on big splits of 15 attacks, 4 blocks, and 3 aces, as Lams Lamina powered the offensive engine with 16 excellent sets and 4 points on 2 aces, 1 spike, and 1 rejection.
Vange Alinsug backstopped Solomon with 12 points and followed by 9 from Bella Belen, as Shaira Jardio churned out 16 excellent receptions and 11 excellent digs ahead of NU’s big finals rematch with UST on Sunday, March 16.
Nitura, on the other hand, got checked to a season-low 13 points on a 9-of-49 attack clip, but with 4 blocks to still salvage an underwhelming line for her lofty, historic standards.
“Regarding NU, I think we can still improve going to the second round and our game [against UST] on Sunday. As for Adamson, I’m happy for them because they’re getting good players, given how difficult it is to recruit,” NU head coach and Adamson alumnus Sherwin Meneses said in Filipino.
“Hopefully, their young players can still improve,” added the amiable mentor, who handled the Jema Galanza and Mylene Paat-led Lady Falcons from 2012 to 2016.
Adamson looked on the way to tie the match at 1-1 after leading NU late, 20-16, but as expected of the defending champions, they fought through adversity to stage a huge 9-3 finishing fightback, capped by an anticlimactic overreach violation on Eloi Dote successfully challenged by the Lady Bulldogs.
It was all NU from that point as they doubled up early, 8-4, before Adamson made a last-gasp rally to get within a point in the match’s twilight, 19-18. Still, the Lady Falcons failed to match the Lady Bulldogs’ winning energy, as the latter locked in for a final 6-0 romp to emphatically end the game in their favor.
Frances Mordi tied Nitura with 13 points in Adamson’s third straight loss that put it at 2-4 in the standings, two games out of the top four and tied with free-falling UP. – Rappler.com