UST Golden Tigresses, Adamson Lady Falcons open UAAP Season 88 stepladder semis showdown

 At the heart of the stepladder semifinals, the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Volleyball Tournament enters its most unforgiving phase as the Adamson Lady Falcons and UST Golden Tigresses collide in a do-or-die first-step clash on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

For UST, the matchup carries a familiar frustration. The España -based squad has yet to solve Adamson this season, dropping both elimination meetings in straight but tightly contested fashion—27-25, 25-22, 25-12 on March 7, and a closer 27-25, 25-20, 26-24 battle on April 11.

Those games also highlighted the emergence of Adamson’s Season MVP Shaina Nitura, who consistently found ways to tilt momentum, averaging 21.0 points, 10.0 receptions, and 6.5 digs across their six combined sets.

Yet despite the season-long struggle, UST is far from conceding the narrative. A hard-fought playoff win over Far Eastern University gave the Tigresses renewed life, and head coach Shaq delos Santos believes the earlier losses may serve as the blueprint for adjustment rather than a verdict.

“We’ll probably draw strength from our two games against Adamson, and we’ll study more what we need to improve. In those two games, we really struggled on our side, aside from Adamson performing very well, especially knowing how strong their ace players are,” coach Delos Santos said.

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WATCH YOUR STEP

There’s no room for error for the UST Golden Tigresses and Adamson Lady Falcons as they rumble for a step forward in the opening phase of the #UAAPSeason88 Women’s Volleyball Stepladder tomorrow, April 29, 3:00 PM, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum!… pic.twitter.com/BwQ2feT0ui

— The UAAP (@uaap_official) April 28, 2026

UST now enters the stepladder with nothing to protect and everything to prove.

On the other side, Adamson arrives with momentum and history finally bending in its favor. The Lady Falcons secured their first Final Four appearance in three years after defeating FEU, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23, closing the eliminations at 9-5 with a three-game winning streak.

For Nitura, however, the achievement is only a checkpoint, not a destination.

“Grateful lang ako kasi ‘yong gusto naming makuha (Final Four) is now in our hands, we hold it, and now we focus. Our focus is kung ano ‘yong pinaghirapan ng team… eyes on the prize,” the 21-year-old outside hitter said.

“Now that we’re in the Final Four, it will be harder because these are the best teams. But we won’t back down. We’ll keep working and respond to whatever comes,” Nitura said.

The winner of Wednesday’s opener moves one step closer to an even steeper climb—against defending champion NU Lady Bulldogs in the second phase of the stepladder.

Waiting at the very top, already locked into the Finals after a flawless 14-0 sweep, are the De La Salle Lady Spikers, setting up a rare postseason path where every match is an elimination and every set carries championship weight.

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