Vengeful NU flexes bench players Aisha Bello, Celine Marsh in demolition of UE

MANILA, Philippines – As expected of a top team taking on the very bottom of the barrel, defending UAAP women’s volleyball champion NU flexed utmost dominance in their bounce-back win after being upset by No. 7 Adamson, burying winless UE, 25-8, 25-22, 25-12, on Wednesday, April 9.

With the win, the Final Four-bound Lady Bulldogs clenched harder on the No. 1 spot with a 10-2 record over second-running La Salle (8-3), while the Lady Warriors kept a fruitless season at 0-12.

Two-time MVP Bella Belen further boosted her chances at a third top award win with 16 points on 14 attacks and 2 aces to go with 13 digs and 8 excellent receptions as her partner-in-crime Alyssa Solomon sat out a second straight game due to a left ankle injury.

With the injury bug biting NU late in the season, head coach Sherwin Meneses used the UE game as a prime opportunity to give extended run to his bench mob, as foreign student-athlete Aisha Bello tallied 9 points, while Celine Marsh scored 7 with 5 excellent receptions after playing just the second set.

“I just keep reminding the team that with our next few games, our performance should remain high. Just because we’re playing lower-ranked teams, it doesn’t mean our performance should also stoop down,” Belen said in Filipino. “We have a standard when it comes to playing. We have goals.”

“I’m very happy that every one of us was able to deliver in this game, especially the younger ones who entered, they really contributed well in this game.”

After contrasting wins in the first and second frames, NU stayed in a close fight with a UE side that had nothing to lose, only leading by one, 9-8, early in the third.

But the power gap quickly reared its head right after, as the Lady Bulldogs’ title-tested offense combined with the Lady Warriors’ reception woes created a monstrous 16-3 ride to the finish line to put NU at double-digit wins and on the cusp of a twice-to-beat advantage.

No UE player breached double figures as Khy Cepada, Van Bangayan, and Riza Nogales all scored 6 apiece. – Rappler.com