Falling back to their signature floor defense, the Adamson Lady Falcons ground out a crucial win as they ousted the Lady Tigers, 25-17, 15-25, 25-20, 25-20 at the San Juan Arena.
With both teams tallying 35 errors, the Lady Falcons scrapped up crucial points even when UST shut the door on their attacks countless times. Adamson was on point with their block coverage and digging. They forced long rallies which they capitalized on especially in the game’s last two sets.
UST piled on the errors early in the first set, brought down by their struggling captain, Pam Lastimosa who failed to tally a single point and was subbed out early in the first frame, only to be put back in the game for short spurts.
The second set had UST’s rookie tandem of EJ Laure and Cherry Rondina dominate with their spiking flanked by Ria Meneses’ outstanding play at the net. Adamson’s attackers floundered at the sight of the UST frontliners, allowing UST to take the set comfortably.
Adamson’s leading scorers, sophomores Mylene Paat and Gemma Galanza along with graduating veteran, Mands Villanueva, carried the load for their squad. Shut down for most of the first two sets, Paat found her offensive groove with her blocking, serving as the main foil to Rondina and Laure. Villanueva carried Adamson out of several dry spells while Galanza powered through UST’s seemingly impervious blocking line.
Paat and Villanueva shared game-high scoring honors with 15 apiece while Galanza finished with 11 points. Villanueva also tallied nine excellent digs out of a total 27 attempts with six excellent receptions, proving her all-around volleyball brilliance.
Laure and Meneses led all Thomasinas in scoring with 11 markers each while UAAP Season 77 beach volleyball MVP Rondina contributed eight points.
Adamson coach Sherwin Meneses had this to say about his victory over UST: “Mas napunta sa amin yung breaks. Kasi match naman yung game pero yung breaks napunta samin.” When asked if the team was going to rest during the Christmas break, “Siguro sandali lang kami mag break kasi di pa naman tapos yung UAAP. Mahaba pa eh. Trabaho muna ulit.”
Paat started slow, but after losing the second set, she seemed to find her groove in the third and fourth.”Masyado nagpaintimidate dun sa pag sub ni Rondina. Sinabihan namin maglaro lang. Nag step-up naman sa bandang huli. Malaki improvement niya, nag start sa Unigames pa eh. Sana nga tuloy-tuloy at ma perfect niya yung opposite position. Madalas nagtatanong sa position na ginagawa niya eh.”
The scores:
AdU – Paat 15, Villanueva 15, Galanza 11, Guevara 6, Alkuino 5, Emnas 3, Cortel (L) 0, Lebumfacil 0, Listana 0, Tempiatura (L) 0
UST – Laure 11, Meneses 11, Rondina 8, Cortez 6, De Leon 5, Tunay 4, Cabanos 2, Dusaran (L) 0, Lastimosa 0, Verutiao 0, Alterado 0, Rasmo (L) 0
