RISING to their coach's challenge, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws rebounded from a third-set stumble, overpowering an undermanned National University squad to claim a 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 25-16 victory in the semifinals of the V-League Men's Collegiate Challenge at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday.

After back-to-back errors in the third set prevented them from sweeping the match, FEU captain Jelord Talisayan delivered a crucial spike to seal the one-hour-and-47-minute triumph, giving the Tamaraws the head start in their best-of-three series, putting them in prime position to close it out on Sunday and advance to the championship round.