University of Santo Tomas (UST) superstar Eya Laure emerged as the league's leading scorer, while rookies from National University (NU) also shone at the conclusion of the elimination round of the UAAP Season 84 women's volleyball tournament.
Laure held off Ateneo de Manila University's Faith Nisperos in a tight scoring race, finishing with 272 points (244 spikes, 17 blocks, 11 aces) while leading the Golden Tigresses to the third seed in the semifinals.
Nisperos, in her first full season with the Blue Eagles, had 267 points after compiling 228 kills, 16 blocks, and 23 aces. She will try to lead the defending champions to the Final 4 as they play Adamson University in a knockout match on Saturday.
But the NU freshmen stole the spotlight, led by Michaela Belen who ranked in the top 10 of five of the seven skills at the end of the elimination round.
Belen, a two-time MVP in the girls' division, finished third in scoring with a total of 203 points, and was second in spiking efficiency at 38.96%. She led the league in serving, with an average of 0.47 ace per set. The young open spiker also shone on defense, ranking eighth in digging (2.38 digs per set) and sixth in receiving (40.85%).
With NU sweeping the elimination round, Belen has emerged as the likely winner of both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards, a feat not achieved in UAAP volleyball since Ateneo's Marck Espejo in Season 76.
Other NU rookies also shone, with opposite hitter Alyssa Solomon leading the league in spiking at 38.98%, while setter Camilla Lamina was the top playmaker with an average of 5.81 excellent sets per set.
NU's veteran libero, Jennifer Nierva, was the league's best receiver at 55.96%, while also ranking second in digging (4.40 digs per set). De La Salle University's Justine Jazareno was the top digger in the league, at 4.78 digs per set.
Meanwhile, La Salle's Thea Gagate, also playing a full season for the first time, led the UAAP in blocking with an average of 0.60 block per set.
The UAAP has traditionally based its awards on overall statistical points, taking into consideration a player's ranking per skill while giving bonuses for wins.
