NU-UST titular duel for UAAP volleyball tiara on at Big Dome

NATIONAL University (NU) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) open their University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 women’s volleyball Finals series at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

e men’s teams of both schools are also figuring in the championship series set at 2 p.m.

e Lady Bulldogs and Tigresses, who finished 1-2 in the eliminations, are even in their head-to-head duel this season and coaches Norman Miguel of NU and Kungfu Reyes of UST are working double time to gain a huge psychological edge in the race-to-two series.

NU had a short preparation after having to beat Far Eastern University twice in the Final Four to reach the championship for the third straight year.

UST, on the other hand, unseated De La Salle in a five-set thriller to secure its first Finals stint since 2019.

“It was a case of we’ll be ready regardless of who we’ll face in the Finals,” Reyes said. “And we’re embracing the fact that we’re facing a veteran NU team.”

Super rookie Angge Poyos and lefty sensation Jonna Perdido powered the Tigresses deep this season.

“We had a series of pre-season tournaments and I credit those stints on how the team’s playing now,” Reyes said. “e players became mature and gained more experience from those tournaments.”

UST is gunning for a 15th title and the first since 2010 with a Shaq delos Santos-coached squad and led by Aiza Maizo and Ange Tabaquero.

De los Santos is back with the Tigresses as part of Reyes’s staff, but adding interest is the fact that Miguel was one of Delos Santos’s assistants in the Tigresses’ most recent championship run.

e Lady Bulldogs led by Season 84 Rookie-mvp Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon are hoping to capitalize on their championship experience.

“You can’t take UST for granted,” Miguel said. “We need to counter their technical skills.”

Belen said: “UST is a fighting team, and they hunger for the game and the title, we just can’t baby the series.”