THE UST Golden Spikers absorbed a 25-22, 29-27, 25-19 sweep against the defending champions NU Bulldogs to open their UAAP Season 88 men’s volleyball campaign on Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Josh Ybañez, Sherwin Umandal and Trevor Valera tallied eight markers each in the losing effort.
The Golden Spikers also committed 31 errors compared to the Bulldogs’ 25.
“Definitely, it was Game 1 jitters… I think we were at set point twice in the second set, but they reversed the situation,” UST head coach Odjie Mamon said postgame.
“Kudos to NU. And then, I’m also proud of my players because they stepped up. Despite having many errors, they still tried to come back and stay competitive,” he added.
After falling on its back foot early in the first set due to 12 unforced errors, UST mounted a late surge behind Ybañez, who fired a kill and solo block to pull within one, 22-21.
The rally, however, was short-lived as new Bulldogs captain Peng Taguibolos stuffed Ybañez at the net, sealing the opening set for his team, 25-22.
UST raced to an 8-2 cushion to open the second set, but NU flipped the script with a blistering 15-4 surge to seize a 20-15 advantage.
The set extended with Taguibolos delivering back-to-back points for NU, 24-all. UST forced multiple ties, but Umandal was denied at the net to trail another set, 29-27.
NU carried its momentum into the third set, exploding to a 13-5 lead behind relentless firepower from national team standouts Buddin, Leo Ordiales and Jade Disquitado.
The España squad tried to claw back to within four, 20-16, but the defending champions stayed firm and slammed the door to clinch their first victory of the season.
Buddin led the scoring for NU with 16 points built on 11 kills, three blocks and two aces, while Ordiales added 11 markers.
The Golden Spikers will next take on the DLSU Green Spikers on Sunday, Feb. 22, at the same venue. F
