Self-confidence powers underdog FEU Lady Tamaraws to stunning sweep of No. 1 NU

MANILA, Philippines – After anchoring on a strong self-belief, the FEU Lady Tamaraws lived to fight another day after shocking the top-seeded NU Lady Bulldogs in straight sets to force a rubber match in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball semifinals.

Led by a balanced scoring effort with three players in double figures, FEU pulled the rug under NU, 25-23, 25-17, 25-23, on Saturday, May 4, at the Araneta Coliseum.

However, despite floating in a state of intense euphoria, the Lady Tamaraws opted to remain humble about the upcoming battle.

“We do not forget to keep ourselves grounded. It’s a big feeling…it’s like we’re on cloud nine,” FEU head coach Manolo Refugia said in Filipino.

“We need to go back (to Wednesday,) and it’s still unfinished business, we still have gas in our tanks, so we’ll just fight,” he added.

From languishing in last place in UAAP Season 84 in 2022 with a 1-14 record, FEU is on the brink of its first finals appearance since Season 80 in 2018.

At the helm of both highs and lows are setter Tin Ubaldo and Chen Tagaod, who were both almost rendered speechless after the contest.

With FEU sustaining hot starts in both the first and second sets, it seemed that the third set was an inevitability of the same, leading 8-1 at the first technical timeout.

However, NU found its second wind, with Season 84 rookie MVP Bella Belen clapping back to creep within a point, 19-18.

Instead, the Lady Tams found the resolve to keep their opponents at bay, with Faida Bakanke closing the door with an off-the-block missile to conclude the contest in an hour and 46 minutes.

“What we [had] shown during the third set was a byproduct of long practice sessions stemming from our (eliminations round) loss against NU, then we moved on the next day,” recalled Tagaod.

“We then adopted a mindset that we should pour 100% all-out, then worked on our lapses,” she continued.

Ubaldo tossed 16 excellent sets and added six markers, while Tagaod top-scored with 12 points, 10 excellent receptions, and 4 digs.

Belen fired 12 points, while the collective NU squad gave away 25 points off of errors.

Vange Alinsug and Alyssa Solomon were held to just 8 points each on 15-of-64 attacking clip.

FEU also dealt the Lady Bulldogs their first loss since the end of the first round, a five-set defeat against defending champion La Salle last March 16, 25-15, 19-25, 25-18, 19-25, 12-15. – Rappler.com