Alyssa Solomon powered defending champion National University in turning back upset-conscious Adamson University, 25-22, 25-19, 25-27, 22-25, 15-10, for its second straight win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 women's volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The sophomore winger registered a career-high 28 points she collected off 27 kills and an ace to help the Lady Bulldogs stretch their winning streak to 20 games dating back to the pandemic-cancelled Season 82 in 2020.

But her efforts almost went for naught when NU got a serious scare from its determined rival.   

The Lady Falcons came back from a four-point deficit in the fifth set to knot it at 4-4 before the Lady Bulldogs regained control. Adamson threatened NU one last time, 10-9, after Solomon's attack hit the net.

Reigning Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Bella Belen answered with back-to-back crosscourt hits to spark the Lady Bulldogs' closing 5-1 barrage capped by a Cams Lamina ace to close out the two-hour, three-minute battle. 

"Adamson forced us to our limits. This is a good experience for us as a team because last year we didn't get a chance to play in a fifth set," head coach Karl Dimaculangan said of the Lady Bulldogs' first five-setter since their 22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13 win over University of Santo Tomas back on 4 March 2020. 

"At least we got to experience this early so they'll know what to do if the match extends into a fifth set. Hopefully, we gained a lot of lessons from this experience," he added.

Meanwhile, UST barged into the win column as it vented its ire on Far Eastern University, 25-16, 28-26, 25-21, to tie its victim at 1-1 win-loss slate.

Eya Laure led the balanced scoring of the Tigresses, putting up 17 points while Jonna Perdido and Renren Penafiel chipped in with 12 and 10 points.