MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern University (FEU) pulled off an early upset in the UAAP Season 81 men's volleyball tournament, as they shockingly swept defending champion National University on Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Centre.

The Tamaraws pounced on the error-prone Bulldogs for a 25-12, 25-18, 25-17 triumph to open their campaign on a strong note.

"Masarap sa feeling namin kasi kitang kita kanina 'yung kagustuhan ng players manalo," FEU coach Rey Diaz said after their win, which took just 70 minutes to complete. "Sobrang gaan nila as a team."

(We feel good because it was apparent earlier how the players wanted to win. They have this lightness as a team.)

No player scored in double-digits for the Tamaraws, with skipper Richard Solis leading them with 9 points. But they were greatly helped by the erratic Bulldogs: the defending champions committed a whopping 32 unforced errors in just three sets.

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In contrast, the veteran FEU squad made just 9 miscues.

The Bulldogs were playing without veteran setter Kim Dayandante, who decided to forego his final playing year for NU. In his place, rookie Ave Joshua Retamar had 18 excellent sets but was still jittery in his new role.

Season 80 Finals MVP Bryan Bagunas led NU with 15 points, but was the lone Bulldog in double-digits.

Still, Diaz warns that they cannot be too hyped up after this win.

"First game pa lang eh," he pointed out. "Kailangan namin ma-maintain 'yung ganitong focus sa lahat ng games."

(It's just the first game. We need to maintain this kind of focus in all games.)

In the first game, University of the East snapped a 20-game losing streak with a 20-25, 25-10, 25-22, 25-21 triumph over University of the Philippines.

Four players scored in double-digits for the Red Warriors, led by Clifford Inoferio (14) and Lloyd Josafat (13). The Red Warriors drew 36 free points from UP's errors, and had a 46-40 lead in kills.

Mark Millette scored 17 points for the Fighting Maroons, while Brylle Consuelo added 12 markers.

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