The University of Santo Tomas Tigresses arrested their three-game losing skid, dropping the University of the East Lady Warriors in straight sets 25-18, 25-8, 25-23 in the UAAP Women’s Volleyball Tournament at the FilOil Flying V Centre, earlier today.
UE showed signs improvement early in the match, even taking a brief 3-1 lead. The Tigresses, however, took control of the match when UST middle hitter Ria Meneses took to the service line. The Tigresses scored 11 straight points and looked dominant with a 12-3 advantage. UE’s Judith Abil then took her turn challenging the UST back line. Abil served and converted hits that helped UE get as close three, 15-12. The Tigresses then finished off the Lady Warriors through attacks from Ej Laure, Mela Tunay, and Cherry Rondina. UST brought their lead back up to as much as nine, 24-15, getting a UE service error for the set-clinching point.
From there, UST thoroughly dominated the Lady Warriors, limiting them to single digits in the second set. Even against UST’s second stringers in the third frame, the Lady Warriors could not scavenge enough good plays to seriously threaten UST.
“So talagang makikita mo naman na marami pang kailangan ayusin sa amin. Masyado pa talagang maraming errors. Kailangan mabawasan namin lalo na laban sa ibang mga team,” said UST head coach Kungfu Reyes who notched his first win in the collegiate ranks.
UST team captain Ej Laure amassed a game-high 16 points, while her fellow open hitter Cherry Rondina contributed 12.
Shaya Adorador towed the Lady Warriors with 10 points, while Celine Domingo added seven.
UST (1-3) have the National University Lady Bulldogs (3-1) next on Saturday, 4 p.m. at the MoA Arena while UE (0-4) take on the De La Salle University Lady Spikers (3-1) on Sunday, 4 p.m. also at the MoA Arena.
The Scores
UST (3) – Laure 16, Rondina 12, Meneses 7, Tunay 5, Rivera 4, Cortez 3, Sandoval 3, De Leon 2, Bicar 0, Francisco 0, Reyes (L)
UE (0) – Adorador 10, Domingo 7, Mendrez 6, Baliton 5, Abil 4, Dacaymat 1, Alcayde 0, Bendong 0, Gabrada 0, Arado (L)
