THREE seasons. Two MVP awards.
National University star Bella Belen is fast-proving her worth as one of the rising spikers–in the future to be compared with Manilla Santos, Cha Cruz-Behag, Aby Maraño, and Alyssa Valdez–in the women’s volleyball history of the UAAP after bagging the top accolade in the 86th season yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
And she’s just in her third playing year for the Lady Bulldogs.
After losing the award last season to La Salle’s Angel Canino, the 5-foot-7 Belen regained the plum after amassing 82.2 statistical points.
Belen, 21, ranked seventh in scoring in the league with 205 points, accumulated from 179 attacks, 15 blocks, and 11 aces.
She stood as the sixth most efficient spiker at 36.53%, the eighth best server at 0.22 per set, the sixth best digger at 2.3 per set, and the second-best receiver with a 48.3% efficiency rate.
Belen led NU to a 12-2 eliminations mark and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
University of Santo Tomas’ prized rookie and this season’s Rookie of the Year, Angeline Poyos, was the runner-up in the MVP race with 76.964 SPs.
Poyos ranked as the second-best scorer in the league with 290 points from 249 attacks, 23 aces, and 18 blocks. She emerged as the third most efficient spiker at 40.75% and the best server at 0.41 aces/set.
Belen (300 positional points) and Poyos (285) took home the first and second Best Outside Spiker titles, respectively.
Belen’s teammate, Alyssa Solomon, also reclaimed the Best Opposite Spiker award with 235 positional points after winning it in Season 84.
Solomon, a 6-foot-1 junior from the Lady Bullpups program, was the sixth-best scorer in the league with 207 points on 176 attacks, 18 blocks, and 13 aces. She was the most efficient attacker at 41.61% and the sixth-best server at 0.26 per set.
UST’s Bernadett Pepito retained the Best Libero plum after garnering 243 positional points. The 5-foot-2 defensive whiz, who is in her third year, stood as the best digger (4.2 per set) and the best receiver (55.45%) after the elimination round.
Golden Tigress sophomore playmaker Cassie Carballo was adjudged the Best Setter after tallying 247 positional points–20 points above the Lady Spikers’ Julia Coronel.
Carballo, 21, led with a league-best 4.55 excellent sets per game while also ranking as the second-best server at 0.41 aces per set.
Completing the All-UAAP Season 86 Team for the second straight time are middle blockers Thea Gagate of La Salle and Nina Ytang of University of the Philippines.
