The FEU Tamaraws notched an impressive victory in a tightly-contested match against Adamson, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23, at the FilOil Arena on Wednesday.
The victory helped FEU improve to a 5-6 record as they climb their way up the Men’s volleyball standings. On the other hand, Adamson lost their grip on first place in the standings as they slide to an 8-3 slate behind Ateneo.
The young Adamson squad opened things up with their impenetrable defense as their blocking was on full display. Karlie Ramirez and Dave Pletado led the net defense for the Falcons as they romped up points mostly forcing the Tamaraws to errors. Holding a slim lead heading into the final parts of the opening set, Adamson finished FEU off on a 6-2 run to take the opener.
Looking to counter, FEU made Adamson’s scorers bleed for points as it was the Tamaraws’ turn to force the Falcons to errors. The Tamaraws led most of the second and third sets and they denied any signs of a comeback put up by Adamson. In the very close third set, Lucky Margate scored on a crucial service error and a failed reception by Adamson reversed and gave the lead to FEU who then led two sets to one.
FEU raced to a three-point lead at the opening of the fourth set with Gacutan and Margate dealing spikes early. Unfortunately, the Tamaraws accumulated errors that aided Adamson to tie the set at 5-5. The ensuing possessions displayed an array of exchanges both in spikes and errors that kept the game tight. Adamson had their chances to pull away in the set but service errors halted their momentum.
Solis capped a 4-0 FEU run in the middle of the set to give FEU the lead once again. After a flurry of scores, the set was tied at 23-23. Refugia surprised Adamson with a quick hit and a combination play worked late to give FEU the victory.
The Tamaraws dominated the spiking category, 53-40, led by Gacutan’s 14 spikes. They also scored more on service aces, 6-1. Despite the loss, Adamson had more blocks, 11-9, and committed less errors, 29-39.
Three Tamaraws tallied double figures led by Gacutan with 18. Margate added 17. Michael Sudaria led scorers from Adamson with 11.
Adamson’s next assignment will be up against the winless UE squad while FEU seeks another victory against NU. Both games will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Feb. 11.
The scores:
FEU- Gacutan 18, Margate 17, Dolor 11, Camcam 8, Barrica 7, Refugia 3, Solis 2, Cayaban 2, Paler 0, Marmeto(L) 0, Marmeto(L) 0
ADU- Sudaria 11, Mallapre 8, Pletado 8, Saraza 7, Ramirez 5, David 5, Yude 2, Pablico 0, Melgar(L) 0
