MANILA, Jan. 31 -- University of Santo Tomas earned the No. 2 spot and a bye in the UAAP Season 86 girls' volleyball step-ladder semifinal after surviving defending champion National University Nazareth School, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 17-25, 15-11, at the Adamson Gym in Ermita, Manila on Wednesday.

UST will wait for the result of the knockout match between NUNS and Far Eastern University-Diliman at 1 p.m. on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City.

The semifinal is also a knockout game.

Led by Margaret Altea, the Junior Golden Tigresses rallied from 4-5 down to get the upperhand at 9-5 and never looked back.

"Well, 'yung unang ano namin is 'tong opportunity na playoff. Actually, 2-3-4 tied, nagkatalo sa (sets) ratio. Sabi ko ...