MANILA – National University (NU) captain Jaja Santiago says the Lady Bulldogs need to improve on their conditioning if they hope to reach their goals in UAAP Season 80, after they labored to a four-set win over Adamson on Saturday.

Santiago led the way for NU with 16 points as they defeated Adamson, 25-15, 25-23, 16-25, 25-13, to open the women's volleyball tournament on a high note.

However, Santiago was not too satisfied with how they played.

"Maganda 'yung pinakita ng team namin, pero sa akin, alam kong kulang pa at marami pa kaming kailangan trabahuhin ni Coach Babes (Castillo)," she said.

Santiago was particularly concerned about the level of their conditioning. The Lady Bulldogs' energy considerably dipped in the third set, when they squandered an opportunity for a straight sets win.

Instead, they gave the Lady Falcons some hope with their poor reception and unforced errors.

"'Yung kundisyon ng katawan namin, bumaba," Santiago observed. "So, nawalan kami ng receive, nag-slow down 'yung team namin, and nag-relax."

Castillo, who was triumphant in his first game in the seniors division, agreed with his star player.

"'Yung katawan, we wanted to produce more in the third set, pero makikita mo – kumbaga sa battery, medyo bumaba ng kaunti," he explained. "That's our struggle."

Fortunately for NU, they regained their bearings in a dominant fourth set. In what turned out to be the final frame of the match, the Lady Falcons collapsed completely, committing a bevy of attack errors that sapped their momentum.

Both Santiago and Castillo are hoping that in future matches, the Lady Bulldogs can play at a high level consistently, instead of going through peaks and valleys as they did against the Lady Falcons.

"Ang issue talaga namin is how can we produce consistently," said Castillo. "Babalik 'yun sa kundisyon nila. So kailangan palakasin ang katawan (nila)."

NU guns for a 2-0 record on Wednesday against Ateneo de Manila University.