The University of Santo Tomas Tigresses followed up their major upset of the Air Force last Saturday with a victory against the Philippine Coast Guard Lady Dolphins, 25-16, 25-10, 25-00, in the 13th Shakey’s VLeague Reinforced Conference, Monday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Ace scorer Ennajie Laure led the Tigresses’ charge with 12 points off 11 attacks. Alex Cabaños produced 23 excellent sets for UST in tonight’s lopsided victory.
The Lady Dolphins kept it close early in the opening set, trailing by just two, 15-13, midway. However, their rhythm on both ends ran out, paving the way for UST to pull a 9-3 run behind service aces and cross-court shots to take the first set, 25-16.
The Tigresses bared their fangs in the following set, taking full advantage of the Coast Guard’s weaknesses on floor and net defense to put up a 16-3 lead. From there, UST took full control and easily coasted to a 25-10 set win, to go up by two sets to none.
The Tigresses, in the third canto, played slow on offense, preventing them to pull away wide that allowed Coast Guard to catch up. Down 16-13, the Lady Dolphins surged back to tie the set at 20. However, errors halted their run, and UST outscored them 5-3 to win the match, 25-23.
Despite the straight-sets win, UST head coach Emilio Reyes lamented that the team, from the starters down to the bench, should still be able to compete at a high level despite what the match gives them.
“Smooth naman siya ng first two sets. Kaso nagbago yung tempo ng laro, nung nagbago kami ng tao,” said Reyes post-game. “Yun ang dapat naming baguhin, na ‘pag nagpalit ka ng tao, ready ka,” he added.
No one from the Coast Guard roster scored in double figures. Samantha Dawson led them with eight markers.
UST (2-0) will look to earn their third straight win on Saturday, October 8, against BaliPure at 6:00PM. Coast Guard, now 0-2, will try to post their first win of the conference when they face the University of the Philippines also on October 8 at 4:00PM.
The Scores:
UST (3) – Laure 12, Sandoval 7, Lastimosa 7, Meneses 7, Cortez 5, Cabanos 4, Palec 4, Francisco 3, Bicar 2, Rasmo L, Rivera L.
Coast Guard (0) – Dawson 8, Malapit 6, Necesito 4, Caraan 4, Mea 2, Pesebre 1, Eniong 1, Maderazo, Castor 0, Fidel 0, Garcia 0, Querijero L, Tabion L.
