LIVE: UAAP Season 87 volleyball FINAL FOUR

MANILA, Philippines–National University is right where it wants to be—back in the UAAP women’s volleyball Finals, with a score finally settled.

The defending champion Lady Bulldogs outlasted Far Eastern University, 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 17-15, in the Final Four Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, booking a return trip to the championship round of the showcase.

READ: UAAP: Top seed NU braces for hungry FEU in Final Four

NU coach Sherwin Meneses, Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, Lams Lamina, and Vange Alinsug after reaching the #UAAPSeason87 finals @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/ykmirnbgLZ

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) May 3, 2025

Top-seeded National, which dropped all but two games in the elimination phase, made sure there won’t be a repeat of last year’s semifinals, where the Lady Tamaraws forced them to fish for their twice-to-beat edge.

“We just kept telling ourselves that the game won’t finish in one or two sets. Until the game is over, we have a fighting chance, and that’s what we showed—we really worked in the third until the fifth set,” said Bella Belen, who once again anchored NU’s attack with 24 points with 14 digs and 10 receptions.

“I had huge trust in my teammates that we could win a game, regardless of the score, regardless of the set,” she went on.

READ: UAAP: NU escapes, forces UST to playoff vs La Salle for bonus

Alyssa Solomon, Vange Alinsug, and Chams Maaya chipped in twin-digit outings of their own as NU regained its bearings just in time to avert disaster.

FEU rallied late in the deciding fifth set behind the efforts of Faida Bakanke, but the old power couldn’t pull the rug from under the eventual victors, who are marching onto their fourth-straight championship series and their first under head coach Sherwin Meneses.