The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws recovered from their disappointing loss with a resounding sweep of the favored National University Lady Bulldogs 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 in the UAAP Women’s Volleyball Tournament at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
FEU’s confidence never wavered for even a moment throughout the match. With Bernadette Pons and Toni Basas putting away kills, FEU turned a 15-13 lead to a gaping 18-13 hole in the opening frame. The Lady Bulldogs needed two timeouts to get their acts together but only managed to trim the lead down to two, 21-23. FEU rookie Villareal got a block in the following possession, setting up a gorgeous Pons cross-court kill.
FEU second string open hitter, Jerrili Malabanan keyed her squad’s second frame triumph. Malabanan inflated a two-point FEU lead to six, 23-17. From there, Bernadette Pons again powered her squad to take the set, scoring the last points of her team for a 2-0 lead.
Instead of waking up immediately, the Lady Bulldogs again allowed the Lady Tams to pounce and grab a sizable 14-7 lead. The Lady Bulldogs slowly crawled their way back into the match, getting as close as two, 20-22. The Lady Tams, however, calmly ended the match, getting kills from Toni Basas and team captain Remy Palma for the sweep.
“Thankfully natuto na kami doon sa huli naming talo. Happy kami na hindi talaga nag-relax ‘yung mga player namun kahit lamang na kami,” said FEU head coach Shaq Delos Santos, referring to their five-set loss to the Adamson University Lady Falcons.
“Hindi kami pwedeng bumibitaw. Talagang pinaghirapan namin ‘to sa training we’re happy na bumunga naman.”
Rookie libero Ria Duremdes controlled the pace of the match from the back row, with 11 excellent receptions and eight digs. Pons and Basas took care of the scoring, tallying 18 and 16 points respectively.
Rookie Jasmine Nabor and Jaja Santiago led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points each. Jorelle Singh added 10 markers.
FEU ended the first round with a 4-3 record for fourth place. NU, 3-3, still have a match on Wednesday against the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Scores
FEU (3) – Pons 18, Basas 16, Palma 7, Malabanan 6, Villareal 5, Sy 2, Guino-O 1, Hernandez 0, Dionela 0, Duremdes (L)
NU (0) – Nabor 12, Santiago 12, Singh 10, Pablo 6, Urdas 2, Urdas 2, Pablo Ma. 2, Doria 1, Abriam 0, Diolan 0, Valdez (L), General (L)
