Bulldogs rebound, down Blue Eagles
AFTER a stunning loss on opening weekend, National University (NU) vented its ire on Ateneo de Manila University, 25-22, 25-15, 25-17, to enter the winning column of the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.
This bounce-back victory of the four-peat-seeking Bulldogs created an early logjam in the middle of the standings with the Blue Eagles, Adamson University and De La Salle University, all at 1-1.
NU rebounded from last Sunday’s straight set defeat to University of Santo Tomas that ended a 34-match win streak.
The Blue Eagles were able to keep in step with the Bulldogs until the middle of the third set, 14-16, before the trio of Jade Disquitado, Leo Aringo and Nico Almendras took charge to finish the match in 77 minutes.
Almendras delivered 18 points on an efficient 18-of-30 clip in spikes while Disquitado had 17 points on 15 attacks and two blocks to go with 15 excellent receptions.
Aringo chipped in 11 points, including four blocks, as the Bulldogs dominated the Blue Eagles in the spiking category, 52-18.
Out of the 54 total points of Ateneo, 30 of those came from the errors of NU.
Ken Batas led the way for the Blue Eagles with nine points while Aimar Okeke and Jian Salarzon were held to just six points apiece.
Adamson University needed to shake off University of the Philippines in the tight first set before holding sway in the next two, 27-25, 25-15, 25-22, to register its first win.
The Soaring Falcons raised their record to 1-1 while the Fighting Maroons dropped to 0-2.