MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) National University NU) stayed perfect in the UAAP Season 80 women's volleyball tournament after surviving a commendable effort from a tough University of Santo Tomas (UST) squad on Sunday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Jaja Santiago took over down the stretch, before Risa Sato sealed the deal with a massive block on Sisi Rondina to cap the Lady Bulldogs' 25-19, 14-25, 25-19, 28-26 triumph.

NU improved to 5-0, tightening their grip on the top spot while sending the Golden Tigresses to 2-3 in the tournament.

Santiago finished with 19 points on 16 kills and two aces, while Aiko Urdas contributed 10 points. Jasmin Nabor earned Player of the Game honors after tallying 32 excellent sets despite NU coming up with only 25 good first balls.

"Ang mindset ko talaga ay porsyento," said Nabor after the game. "Hinintay ko si Ate Jaja na pumasok sa loob. Hangga't kaya kong i-adjust, dadalhin ko 'yung bola sa kanya."

• READ: Ateneo escapes gutsy UP challenge

The Lady Bulldogs' inability to receive haunted them in the second set, when they gave a whopping six aces to the Tigresses that allowed UST to equalize.

But the spikers from España could not capitalize on their momentum, as they immediately fell behind 0-7 in the third set and lost, 25-19. The Tigresses gave up 14 free points off their errors in the frame, much to the annoyance of head coach Kungfu Reyes, who was getting increasingly agitated in their timeouts.

They had a much better start in the fourth frame, leading 5-1 early and maintaining their advantage midway through. But their own miscues, combined with Santiago's unstoppable hits, allowed the Lady Bulldogs to catch up. An exchange of attack errors by Risa Sato and Dimdim Pacres tied the set at 20, and it was a see-saw battle from there.

NU reached match point, 24-22, with Nabor maximizing Santiago's presence in the front row. But a service error by Roselyn Doria gave the Tigresses an opening, and Rondina went to work. Her crosscourt kill tied the set, before Santiago answered with a kill of her own. Rondina beat the NU blockers in the next rally, then Audrey Paran's next hit went long to put UST at set point, 26-25.

Unfortunately for the Tigresses, Santiago was simply unstoppable. Her next attack brushed the UST blockers, and from the service line, she also did damage as the Tigresses could not send the ball to Rondina due to a poor first ball. They got the ball to their ace spiker in the next rally, but Sato was there to close the door on Rondina and wrap up the match.

Rondina had 25 points, overtaking Santiago as the leading scorer in the league. Carla Sandoval scored a career-best 12 points, but the Tigresses gave away 35 points off their errors and struggled to convert their attacks in the face of NU's net defense.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)