University of Santo Tomas celebrates against National University Nazareth School in the semifinals of the SGVIL Rising Stars Cup Division 1, April 30, 2026 at the La Salle Green Hills Gym. Handout/Shakey's
MANILA -- University of Santo Tomas erased a one-set deficit to stun National University Nazareth School and book a championship appearance in the Shakey's Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) Rising Stars Cup Division 1 on Thursday.
The Junior Golden Tigresses rallied for a 25-22, 19-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-11 triumph in their Final 4 showdown at the La Salle Green Hills Gym to earn a breakthrough Finals appearance in the grassroots competition.
Fueled by the momentum of their fourth set comeback to force the decider, the Junior Tigresses uncorked a decisive 7-1 run in the fifth frame to snuff the fight out of the stunned Lady Bullpups.
UST will now take on Bacolod Tay Tung, which swept Far Eastern University-Diliman, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23, in the other semis pairing.
The one-game finale is set on Friday.
Kimberly Rubin led the way for the Junior Tigresses with 20 points. Patricia Mendoza added 12 markers while Jezel Silvestre and Nicole Pelaez chipped in 11 points each for UST, which remained unbeaten in six games and avenged its semis loss to NUNS in UAAP Season 88.
"Sobrang happy namin. Ginawa lang namin 'yung kaya naming gawin and inilabas lang namin kung ano ang pinag-ensayuhan namin. Nilaro lang namin na may puso," said graduating winger Rubin, who had 18 kills, one ace and one kill block.
UST rallied from a 6-8 deficit in the fifth set with a blistering run to take a 13-9 advantage off a Silvestre hit. Rubin sent her serve long in the next play before Eliz Menchavez put the Junior Tigresses at match point.
Xyz Rayco saved a match point but Pelaez sealed the victory with a crosscourt kill to end the two-hour, 12-minute match.
Raine Alonzo led the Lady Bulldogs with 22 points on 18 attacks, three aces and a kill block. Rayco had 18 points, Jhanynna Bulandres added 16 while Bella Cruz finished with 11 points for NUNS, which saw its five-game winning streak snapped.
Meanwhile, undefeated University of Batangas High School beat Corpus Christi School, 25-13, 23-25, 25-16, 25-13, to secure a final berth in Division 2 of the tournament backed by Smart Sports, PusoP.com, Solar Sports Free TV, Mikasa, Asics, Eurotel, Team Rebel Sports, and Rigour Technology as technical partners.
The Junior Lady Brahmans will take on the survivor of the other Final Four clash still being disputed by Bacolod Tay Tung-B and NUNS-B.
On the other hand, St. John's Institute swept King's Montessori School, 25-15, 25-16, 25-15, while Adamson University dominated Immaculada Concepcion College, 25-14, 25-20, 25-16, in the Division 1 classification round.
In the Division 2 classification round, UST-B defeated La Salle Green Hills, 25-8, 25-18, 20-25, 25-12, while St. Jude Parish School topped Domuschola International School, 25-8, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20.