THE UST Golden Tigresses finished in second place after falling short against the defending champions NU Lady Bulldogs, 25-17, 15-25, 25-20, 25-20, in Game 2 of their 2023 Shakey’s Super League Pre-Season Championship best-of-three finals at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 11.
NU went on an undefeated run to defend its title.
Leading by three in the fourth set, 10-7, the Tigresses preserved a three-point cushion until the game reached 16-13.
A Bella Belen off-the-block kill capped an 11-3 NU run that sent the Lady Bulldogs to championship point.
UST rookie Angeline Poyos scored a down-the-line kill to keep the Tigresses’ hopes alive, but she committed a service error that sent the Bulldogs to their second straight title.
The Lady Bulldogs unleashed 18 attacks to overwhelm UST in the first set, 25-17.
With the score tied at 5-all early in the second frame, the Tigresses buried NU with a 20-10 run highlighted by nine Xyza Gula points to tie the game at one set apiece.
A 5-2 run capped by a Belen crosscourt kill in the third set gave the Bulldogs the two-sets-to-one advantage, 25-20.
Gula paced the Tigresses with 18 markers, while Poyos added 11 points.
Belen led NU with 17 points, while Vange Alinsug and Alyssa Solomon chipped in 15 and 14 points, respectively.
During the awarding ceremony, Solomon was hailed MVP once more this year including the Best Opposite Hitter, while Belen won the 1st Best Outside Hitter plum.
UST’s team captain Bernadett Pepito was named the Best Libero for the second year in a row, while Poyos bagged the 2nd Best Outside Hitter award.
NU’s Camilla Lamina and Erin Pangilinan took home the Best Setter and 1st Best Middle Blocker honors, respectively. Adamson’s Lorene Toring achieved the 2nd Best Middle Blocker award to complete the list of individual awards.
