Lady Bulldogs rip Oragons, stay in hunt

MANILA, Philippines - National University overwhelmed a listless Iriga side, 25-15, 25-16, 25-18, yesterday to get back into the thick of things in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13-Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.

Heavy-hitting Jorelle Singh led all hitters with 12 points while skipper Jaja Santiago and Audrey Paran chipped in nine apiece, helping the Lady Bulldogs end a two-game losing slide and jump to joint fourth with their victims and the Laoag Power Smashers at 2-2.

Jasmin Nabor continued to impress as she not only dished out 26 excellent sets but also contributed 10 hits, including a team-best four blocks.

The Lady Bulldogs dominated the Lady Oragons all game, putting on a superb court coverage that led to a series of attacks, including one from Joy Doromal that ended a long rally and the 61-minute romp aired live over ABS-CBN Sports + Action Channel 23.

Later in the night, BaliPure rallied from 1-2 set down with a sweep of the last two frames, snaring a 20-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-17, 25-12 decision over University of the Philippines to join idle Air Force at second at 3-1.

Alyssa Valdez marked her return to the country’s premier women’s volley league with a 26-hit performance, including 23 kills, her last crosscourt spike ending the one-hour, 53-minute encounter and sealing the team’s third straight win after a four-set setback to Air Force last May 30.

The Lady Maroons actually fought back from 7-14 down in the decider by racking up five straight points but failed to stop Valdez’s last attack, dropping to 1-3 in a tie with Iriga.