The UAAP women’s volleyball Final Four kicks off this Saturday, featuring the same cast and a bracket that looks like a copy of last season.

But a closer look reveals that National University, La Salle, University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Far Eastern University (FEU) are returning to Smart Araneta Coliseum as slightly different versions of themselves, reshaped by midseason realizations and the weight of unfinished business.

The Lady Bulldogs, top-ranked defending champions of the showcase, plunge into action with a twice-to-beat cushion. But they take on the No. 4 Lady Tamaraws without the illusion that their assignment would be a light one.

“I feel like we’ve learned our lesson well,” said skipper Bella Belen, looking back at the enemy that pushed them to the brink in this stage last year.

“We went through a tough stretch that time. We had a chance to win it in Game 1 of the semis. I guess now, we’ll be hungrier. Especially with FEU playing at a high level.”

The Lady Tamaraws ended their elimination round with a four-set dismantling of the Lady Spikers, an old power looking to reclaim its lofty perch. So count on the Morayta-based squad to use that triumph as a springboard for their bid to the same and annex a 30th UAAP crown.

The Lady Bulldogs are leaving nothing to chance. Just ask veteran hitter Alyssa Solomon, who has since been priming the rest of the team ahead of the knockout clash.

“As seniors, we remind the rest of the team that we should never lose our fire, especially in training,” she said.

In the other dance, La Salle battles UST looking to fully rejig the two schools’ storied rivalry.

The Lady Spikers just beat the Golden Tigresses, bridesmaids of the last tournament, in a playoff for the No. 2 seed last Wednesday, which reversed their roles.

Now, the Taft-based crew is looking to fully complete exacting payback on the team that showed them the door, also in this phase of the race.

“Our chemistry as a team has definitely increased,” Shevana Laput said following the triumph that gifted them the playoff bonus. “But also, simply, just the mindset that we want it more.”

“We’re much more confident in ourselves and in each other this time. We have faith that we can play with fearlessness,” added Amie Provido, the unheralded heroine against UST.

Coach KungFu Reyes of Golden Tigresses has been here before. He’s aware of the window for his charges—and how quickly it is narrowing for the team.

“The adjustments and possible corrections are ours to make going into the game this Saturday,” the seasoned mentor said. “We’re just lacking something. And that something, we hope to work on.”

But La Salle is not too keen on wasting chances.

“We’ve stopped just waiting,” said Laput. “We are now taking. We’re taking the win because we know we deserve it.”