Job’s not finished: UAAP title redemption far from NU’s minds after La Salle conquest

MANILA, Philippines – For the first time in nearly two years, the NU Lady Bulldogs finally had the La Salle Lady Spikers’ number once again in UAAP women’s volleyball after completing a four-set conquest, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-22, in a Sunday, April 14 blockbuster at the jampacked Mall of Asia Arena.

Rising sophomore spiker Vange Alinsug soared with 22 points, former MVP Bella Belen bounced back from a career-low 2-point outing with 14 markers, while Alyssa Solomon scored 13 in NU’s first win over La Salle since clinching the Season 84 championship in 2022.

Although the Lady Bulldogs are nearing the coveted twice-to-beat Final Four bonus after rising to a top-rank tie with UST at 10-2, not a single player among their ranks is looking too far ahead – most especially Belen, who took no solace in beating a vulnerable Lady Spikers’ side still without MVP Angel Canino.

“Personally, I’m not too satisfied yet because there are games left. We will always take it one game at a time,” she said in Filipino. “We’re not thinking of the future. What we have now, that’s where our focus is.”

“We just really have to maintain our consistency every game, because beating La Salle is not where it ends,” Alinsug added in Filipino. “We still have a lot to go through and work hard for.”

No matter how the Lady Bulldogs downplay their hot stretch, however, it’s undeniable that they are once again title favorites capable of beating any other top team, fully healthy or otherwise.

After ending La Salle’s seven-game winning streak, NU is now the only team undefeated in the eliminations’ second round, with two more assignments remaining against fifth-ranked Adamson and fourth-seeded FEU.

Still, Belen maintained a semblance of a champion’s pride, saying that nothing is unachievable with good old hustle in every passing game.

“The championship will come to us as long as we work hard for it,” she continued.

“I believe that every hardship we go through has its own reward.” – Rappler.com