NU ace rookie Sam Cantada churned out another key scoring performance for the Lady Bulldogs, this time against her former team Adamson.
The NU Lady Bulldogs once again rode the coattails of promising rookie Sam Cantada en route to a sweep win of the Adamson Lady Falcons, 25-23, 25-19, 28-26, in UAAP Season 88 at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Wednesday noon.
The NU Lady Bulldogs, who are two-time defending champions, reasserted themselves with the resounding win for the early lead in the standings at 2-0.
Meanwhile, Cantada bested her former high school teammates that were now playing for the Lady Falcons — including fellow UAAP high school volleyball MVP Shaina Nitura, Faye Sagaysay, and Abby Segui.
They claimed the UAAP girls’ volleyball championship in UAAP Season 86.
Cantada’s Lady Bulldogs were tested in the opening set where Nitura’s collaboration with Frances Mordi pushed the Lady Falcons to go toe-to-toe against the defending champions.
Adamson was breathing down NU’s neck, 22-23, late in the first set.
However, the Lady Falcons shot themselves in the foot with two errors in the last three rallies of the set to bail NU out and give the Lady Bulldogs the 1-0 advantage, 25-23.
NU’s close win in the first set powered their confidence in the succeeding sets, with Cantada and Panique conniving alongside the steady contributions of other Lady Bulldogs like Vange Alinsug and Chams Maaya.
Cantada paced the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points while a resurgent Panique added 13.
Meanwhile, Adamson leaned on the services of Nitura who finished with 18 points.
Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.