UAAP: NUNS girls near Finals berth; Adamson, FEU-Diliman clinch Final 4 spots

MANILA — National University-Nazareth School took another step towards an outright Finals berth in the UAAP Season 89 girls’ volleyball tournament after a comfortable 25-10, 25-7, 25-13 sweep of UP Integrated School, Wednesday at Paco Arena in Manila.

The Lady Bullpups improved to 12-0 — two wins away from an elimination round sweep that would trigger a stepladder format.

Xyz Rayco led the charge with 15 points, including seven aces. As a team, NUNS tallied 18 aces and 36 attack points, compared to only nine kills for UPIS.

The Lady Bullpups leaned on their potent service game throughout the match, with Rayco firing three consecutive aces to give NUNS a commanding 23-7 lead in the second set. An attack error by UPIS’ Elisha Capus then handed the Bullpups the set, 25-7.

Rayco continued to spearhead NUNS in the third set, drilling another service ace to extend the lead to 18-7. Ysabelle Tuballas later delivered another ace to complete the sweep in 51 minutes.

NUNS will face De La Salle-Zobel on Sunday before wrapping up its elimination-round campaign against last season’s Finals opponent, FEU-D, on November 20.

Niña Abad paced UPIS with seven points as the Junior Lady Maroons absorbed their 11th loss in 12 outings.

Meanwhile, Adamson University ended De La Salle-Zobel’s Final Four hopes after the Lady Baby Falcons outlasted the Junior Lady Archers in a thrilling straight-sets victory, 27-25, 25-18, 25-23.

With the win, Adamson secured its seventh consecutive postseason appearance after improving to 8-4, while DLSZ slipped to 5-7 and remained in fifth place.

Both teams traded runs in the second set before consecutive service aces from Jennica Misaison gave Adamson an early cushion at 10-3.

DLSZ refused to back down, however, responding with a 9-2 run capped by Alyanna Valdez’s tip-in to knot the score at 12-all. The Baby Falcons answered with a 9-2 run of their own to regain control before Kristal Martin’s through-the-block hit sealed the set, 25-18.

Ellaine Gonzalgo then took over in the deciding third set, scoring Adamson’s final five points to keep the Baby Falcons in front.

Despite one last rally from DLSZ, Gonzalgo delivered a tip-in to complete the sweep and punch Adamson’s ticket to the Final Four.

Gonzalgo led Adamson’s attack with 18 points, while Misaison and Martin chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Aislinn Alemania paced DLSZ with 13 points, followed by Kylie Celada with 10 markers.

Far Eastern University-Diliman completed this year’s Final Four cast after dismantling Ateneo de Manila University, 25-10, 25-18, 25-14, in the final match of the four-game slate.

The Baby Tamaraws improved to 8-4, while Ateneo dropped to 4-8, extending its search for a postseason appearance since joining the division in Season 86.

Earlier in the day, University of Santo Tomas strengthened its bid for a twice-to-beat advantage after sweeping the University of the East, 25-13, 25-11, 25-17, for its fourth consecutive victory.