Avenging their opening day loss, the Adamson University Falcons made short work of the University of the East Warriors 25-18, 25-14, 25-23, in the UAAP Men’s Volleyball Tournament at the PhilSports Arena, earlier today.
Adamson threw a myriad of offensive plays at UE to start the match. The Falcons broke free from the Warriors in the opening set with a 6-0 blitz to take a 16-8 lead. The Warriors rallied late behind Vince Abrot whose serving brought AdU’s lead down to four, 21-17. But Adamson’s Bryan Saraza pulled his team to the set win, scoring three of Adamson’s last four points.
The Falcons had no trouble controlling UE’s attacks and serves in the second frame. As UE surrendered multiple errors, Adamson built an insurmountable 16-6 lead.
After cruising in the first two sets, Adamson finally faced some resistance in the third frame. UE tailed Adamson by just two points throughout the frame. UE’s Edward Camposano went for a solo 3-0 run that gave the Warriors a momentary 21-20 lead. But the Falcons regained their touch just in time. Saraza and middle blocker Paolo Pablico finished three combination plays that buoyed the Falcons to a 23-22 lead. Two UE errors ended the match unceremoniously.
“Nawala ‘yung control nila sa laro noong third set,” Adamson head coach Domingo Custodio said. “Hindi naman basta-basta ibibigay sa amin ‘yung laban. Kaya kinailangan talaga maibalik sa focus noong dulo kaya inubos ko talaga timeout ko.”
Three Falcons scored 10 points for Adamson – Dave Pletado, Jerome Sarmiento, and Bryan Saraza. Paolo Pablico and team captain Michael Sudaria had eight and seven points respectively.
Team captain Edward Camposano was the only Warrior in double digits with 12 markers. His fellow open hitter, Vince Abrot managed nine points. UE kept pace with the Falcons in almost every category except in errors where they gave up 11 more than AdU.
Adamson (1-1) will next take on the depending champs Ateneo Blue Eagles (1-0) on February 10, Wednesday, 10 a.m. at the MoA Arena. UE (0-2) will face the FEU Tamaraws (1-0) also on Wednesday, 8 a.m.
The Scores:
AdU (3) – Pletado 10, Saraza 10, Sarmiento 10, Pablico 8, Sudaria 7, Ramirez 2, Yude 0, Mendiola (L), Melgar (L)
UE (0) – Camposano 12, Abrot 9, Ortega 6, Adviento 4, Alba 4, Magdaong 1, Saguin 1, Aljas 1, Imperial 0, Inoferio (L)
