La Salle-Dasma, NCBA cop UCAA volley crowns

MANILA, Philippines - National College of Business and Arts pulled off a 26-24, 22-25, 19-25, 25-20, 16-14 win over Rizal Technological University to capture the men’s crown while La Salle-Dasmariñas took the women’s plum in the 12th Universities and Colleges Athletic Association (UCAA) volleyball tournament in Dasmariñas, Cavite last Tuesday.

The Wildcats bucked the absence of injured mainstay Joshua Vicente in the final set and hacked out a five-set thriller over the Blue Thunder to complete a sweep of their best-of-three series at the Ugnayang La Salle gym in their very first stint in the league.

The Lady Patriots, on the other hand, banked on Jessamine Fernandez to beat the NCBA Lady Wildcats, 25-19, 28-26, 28-26, and retain the women’s diadem.

Vicente, who sustained a sprained ankle in the fourth frame, later bagged the MVP honors while the Lady Patriots spiker Mariel Desengano took the women’s MVP plum.

PJ Domingo and RJ Oclima came through with clutch hits as the Wildcats tied the count at 14 in the deciding set then Jeffrey Constantino delivered the last two hits to clinch the win for NCBA.

The Lady Wildcats hung on and forced a tie at 26 off Danikka Canilang’s service error. But Fernandez stepped up with two hits to help power the Lady Patriots to victory.