Lady Bulldogs eye share of lead

National University guns for a share of the Group A lead with Far Eastern U as it clashes with San Sebastian as action in the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference heats up at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan today.

The Lady Bulldogs won their first game under new coach Babes Castillo, turning back the Lyceum of the Phl U Lady Pirates, 25-17, 25-16, 25-21, last Sept. 3. With another triumph in their 6:30 p.m. showdown with the Lady Stags will put them alongside the hot-starting Lady Tams at the helm.

But Castillo will miss facing counterpart Roger Gorayeb, the former’s predecessor at NU who led the team last year’s championship. The latter has said he will skip the game due to personal reasons.

Assistant coach Clint Malazo will instead call the shots for the Lady Stags, who tote a 1-1 card in their side of the two-division tournament organized by Sports Vision.

Gorayeb steered the Lady Stags past the Jose Rizal U Lady Bombers, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21, but the Recoletos-based squad bowed to FEU, 17-25, 21-25, 1425, making the match so crucial given the single-round format of the season-ending conference of the country’s premier volley league backed by Mikasa and Asics.

Meanwhile, University of the Philippines and Technological Institute of the Phl try to bounce back from their respective opening game setbacks as they clash at 4 p.m. in a Group B encounter.

The Lady Maroons dropped their first game to the Adamson Lady Falcons with a heartbreaking 25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 19-25, 9-15 defeat last week while the Lady Engineers succumbed to the San Beda Red Spikers, 13-25, 18-25, 27-25, 1325, last Sept. 3.