The rise of University of Santo Tomas in this UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament has seen many heroes – and one constant and consistent player is Angge Poyos.
The super rookie from Bohol proved that she is next in line among the Golden Tigresses’ outstanding outside spikers. She led her team to a second-seed, twice-to-beat-armed finish in the elimination round with a 12-2 record.
Poyos was the top scorer for UST in its final elimination match, which also became a head-on battle for a twice-to-beat incentive.
She scored 22 points as they defeated De La Salle in four sets, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-15, in front of a mammoth crowd inside the SMART Araneta Coliseum on Saturday evening.
The 20-year-old explosive hitter also received appreciation from the UST community present in the Big Dome, they serenaded her with “MVP!” chants during the game.
While she would be happy to receive the MVP award, what’s important to her is the biggest trophy of them all – the championship.
(C) Nicks Hernandez/UAAP Season 86 Media Team
“No expectation na makuha ko yung MVP,” said Poyos postgame.
“Bonus na lang siguro yun if makuha ko man. Basta ang importante para sa akin is yung championship, and yun talaga ang pinaka-unang goal namin this season. And thankful ako sa fans na nagsisigawan sila kanina,” she added.
At the end of the elimination round, Poyos ended up as the league’s highest scorer with 290 points – consisting of 249 spikes, 23 aces, and 18 blocks.
She is just a point behind UE’s own super rookie Casiey Dongallo.
The UST High School product was also the league’s top server with 0.41 aces per set and the third-best spiker with a 40.75-percent success rate.
Additionally, Poyos holds the UAAP record for most points in a single game by a rookie with 31 – achieving the feat against Adamson University on April 3.
Now, the Golden Tigresses aim to replicate their performance against the Lady Spikers on Saturday night to secure a spot in the Final Four.
“Sobrang saya lang po kasi nakuha namin yung twice-to-beat advantage and talagang nagtrabaho lahat. Pinagsipagan namin lahat at nangibabaw yung puso at tapang namin today,” said Poyos.
