The first round of the UAAP Season 85 women's volleyball made it clear—there's no dog show. The National University Lady Bulldogs will not be repeating their Season 84 sweep. In fact, it may be last season's runners-up, the De La Salle Lady Spikers, who are primed to achieve that rare milestone.
But as the statistics reveal, this conference is not the NU-DLSU show. What if the top performers got together and played in a fantasy match?
Here are our dream matchups based on the numbers from the first round of Season 85.
Master orchestrators: Louie Romero (Adamson) vs Mars Alba (DLSU)
On one side, there's the Adamson Lady Falcons' expert playmaker Louie Romero. On the other, a feared cannon in DLSU's Mars Alba.
Every coach is on the watch for Romero, who is leading the league in setting. The Lady Falcons are 5-2 and have snatched the second seed thanks to their setter. She is the only player to average at least 5 excellent sets per frame to activate players like Trisha Tubu, Kate Santiago, and Lucille Almonte in their attacks.
Yes, NU's Camilla Lamina is technically the second best setter so far in the stats, while Marionne Alba is third. But the Lady Spiker should be given just recognition given DLSU's spotless record so far. And unlike Romero, Mars can also score by her lonesome with 14 aces to her name. That's almost Jia de Guzman level.
Opposites at the top: Alyssa Solomon (NU) vs Trisha Tubu (Adamson)
It's a battle of the best—a contender for the Most Valuable Player of the conference against the candidate for Rookie of the Year.
When you look at the numbers, NU's Alyssa Solomon is queen. The reigning Best Opposite Spiker shares the top spot, registering 99 spikes, 7 blocks, and six aces. She is also the only spiker in the competition so far at 40% success rate.
Imagine the spiking battle with Adamson's own super rookie Trisha Tubu. She has brushed all criticism, snickers, and insults aside to register a 34.15% success rate in spikes. It has been a joy to witness this super rookie make 96 points and we would love to see more.
Rookie vs Royalty: Angel Canino (DLSU) vs Eya Laure (UST)
It's been a tight race at the top of the scoreboard. Joining Solomon at number one is DLSU's own super rookie Angel Canino at 112 points. She already had a showdown with Season 84 scoring queen Eya Laure. It's tantalizing to witness another.
Canino's points are coming off 98 attacks, 7 blocks, and 7 aces. She's also running second as Best Spiker with a 37.84% success rate. No doubt that this Angel is also a contender for Rookie of the Year.
University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigress Eya Laure is no slouch either with 105 total points so far. She has developed her game and is the only player among the top five scorers to register double digits blocks at 15.
Consistency vs all-around game: Kate Santiago (Adamson) vs Jolina dela Cruz (DLSU)
There are a whole lot of talented outside spikers this season, but it would be fun to see Adamson's Kate Santiago and DLSU's Jolina dela Cruz in this fantasy match.
Santiago is the top scorer for the Lady Falcons with 87 attacks, 7 blocks, and 3 aces. She is the third-best spiker after Solomon and Canino, and has delivered consistently for Adamson with an average of 13.8 points. It has to be noted that her best score of 20 points came in the tight five-setter against NU.
Dela Cruz, on the other hand, may be the heir to Cha Cruz-Behag's Miss Everything title—as befitting the role of an outside spiker. First, she is the no. 10 scorer in the competition with 79 points. 14 of those are kill blocks. Another 6 are aces.
She is also an asset on defense as the seventh-best digger—next to six liberos at that! Oh, and she can also hold her own as the No. 4 receiver in the league, again next to three liberos.
Great walls: Thea Gagate (DLSU) vs Nina Ytang (UP)
Season 84 Best Middle Blocker Thea Gagate continues to be a giant at the net, leading the league with 19 kill blocks. She can also deliver attacks, as the top middle blocker in scoring so far.
The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroon Nina Ytang joins her at the top of the department, with 18 kill blocks to her name.
Best of the birds: Lorene Toring (Adamson) vs AC Miner (Ateneo)
Lorene Toring of Adamson and AC Miner—then with FEU—have been in a tight blocking battle in the juniors division. Now, it's intriguing to witness their battle in the seniors.
Toring is the main MB for the Lady Falcons with 12 kill blocks and with only 9 faults. She has also registered 37 attacks and 5 aces to figure among the top 30 scorers.
To be fair, DLSU's Fifi Sharma is also a reliable wall. But a case can be made for Ateneo's Miner, whose 41 attacks, 12 blocks, and 4 aces have been crucial in keeping Ateneo in the fight along with Faith Nisperos' and Vanie Gandler's points.
Keeping the ball alive: Marga Encarnacion (FEU) vs Bernadette Pepito (UST)
In volleyball, the play continues as long as the ball is alive. In this fantasy matchup, it would be tickling to witness a long rally between the top digger of the conference in Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraw Marga Encarnacion and the top receiver in UST's Bernadette Pepito.
Encarnacion is the sole libero to tally over a hundred digs in the first round at 118. The Lady Tam is also the only libero to reach an average of 4 excellent digs/set.
Plus, FEU as a whole leads all schools in digs with an average of 13.74/set.
An award also has to be given to UST's Bernadette Pepito. She is the top receiver and the only athlete above the 50% mark, registering 52.51% efficiency to be exact. At digging, she is also no slouch with an average of 3.35 per set.
There you have it, our fantasy all-star matchup after the first round of competition. Some may already be raising their pitchforks with the absence of reigning MVP Bella Belen or Season 84 Best Libero Jen Nierva—although being benched against UP definitely dented their numbers.
It is also worth noting that Faith Nisperos is doing her damndest for Ateneo with 96 points, but the outside spiker position is an incredibly stacked field this season.
Keep in mind though that this is done in the spirit of fun. Plus, there's the second round coming up. We're all free to build our own dream competition. Why don't you share your own?