By: Justine Anne Gaerlan
De La Salle Zobel finally got the better of Far Eastern University-Diliman for the first time in six years, claiming a 25-23, 25-18, 24-26, 25-18 victory in the UAAP Season 88 High School Girls’ Volleyball Tournament on Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym in Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
It was the Junior Lady Spikers’ first win against the Baby Tamaraws since a 25-17, 25-23, 25-21 second-round triumph on Oct. 17, 2019 (UAAP Season 82), when the Muntinlupa-based squad was the defending champion.
The victory also moved De La Salle-Zobel up to solo third at 3-1, behind joint leaders National University Nazareth School and Adamson University.
Dominant in the opening frames, the Junior Lady Spikers recovered from a narrow third-set slip and reasserted control in the fourth, jumping to an 8-2 cushion behind attacks from Jelliane and Zeianne Laborte.
Both squads then exchanged scoring bursts, with DLSZ’s Aislinn Alemaña and FEU-D’s Nigerian open hitter Ifunanya Udeagbala trading kills.
The Lady Baby Tamaraws managed to trim the deficit to five, but costly errors down the stretch allowed Alemaña to deliver the finishing blows. She brought the Junior Lady Spikers to match point before sealing the victory herself.
“Noong natalo kami sa NUNS, sobrang frustrated kami kasi hindi kami ganun maglaro. So bumawi kami doon sa game namin against UE, and then dire-diretso lang ‘yung application,” said DLSZ head coach Jeremiah Monreal.
“Tapos sabi ko, ‘just play your game’ and then lalabas naman lahat ng pinaghirapan namin. And then ayun nga, lumabas so siyempre hindi naman siya perfect… Pero pa-peak ‘yung team namin so paangat ‘yung team namin, which is better kaysa naman nagpe-peak tapos biglang bababa,” he added.
“Siguro na-unlock namin ‘yung hidden potential ng team namin. Malaking boost sa morale namin, sa kumpiyansa ng team talaga, especially doon sa mga bago dahil medyo matagal na nga bago nanalo ulit doon sa mga top four na team, so magandang simula ito para sa amin.”
Alemaña powered DLSZ’s offense with 22 points on 20 attacks and two aces.
Zeianne and Jelliane Laborte complemented her effort, with the former scoring 17 points on 14 attacks and three aces, and the latter adding 14 points.
Sabine Valdez orchestrated the offense with 11 excellent sets and contributed five points in the one-hour, 42-minute match. Meanwhile, reigning Best Libero Angel Cenizal held the fort with 26 digs in another steady outing.
Despite the loss, Udeagbala put on another strong showing for the Lady Baby Tamaraws, exploding for 23 points from 20 attacks, two aces, and a block. FEU-D slipped to 1-3 after absorbing its second straight defeat.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Earlier, defending champion NUNS needed just 55 minutes to dispatch University of the Philippines Integrated School in straight sets, 25-7, 25-15, 25-8, keeping a share of the lead.
“May goal kami, hindi lang ‘yung first round, and naintindihan namin ‘yung situation na last game namin is Adamson. So looking forward kami to that match, but kailangan naming ma-gain ‘yung confidence ng bawat isa,” said NUNS head coach Karl Dimaculangan.
Akeyla Bartolabac stood out for the Lady Bullpups, firing 10 points — all built on attacks in just two sets.
Diza Berayo and Adeleine Agustin backed her up with seven and six points, respectively. The Junior Fighting Maroons fell to an even 2-2 slate, tying the Junior Golden Tigresses for fourth place.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Meanwhile, Adamson University proved too much for Ateneo De Manila University, pulling off a convincing 25-5, 25-18, 25-8 triumph in under an hour to stay in joint first with NUNS.
The Lady Baby Falcons leaned on Kristal Martin and Ella Gonzalvo, who tallied 10 points each — Martin from seven attacks and a block, and Gonzalvo from six kills and four aces, both in just two sets of play.
Luanne Atienza topped Ateneo’s scoring in the loss with seven points from six attacks and a block. The Blue Eagles remained winless after four matches.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Bouncing back from a five-set loss to Adamson, University of Santo Tomas made quick work of University of the East, 25-10, 25-7, 25-13, in just 50 minutes to improve to 2-2.
The Junior Golden Tigresses fielded its full roster, led by four players who scored six points each — Jezel Silvestre, who did so in a single set; and Ryzel Laag, Kim Rubin, and Anya Mechavez, who played two sets each.
The Junior Lady Warriors, still trying to regain competitive form in their return, slid to 0-4.
