By: Justine Anne Gaerlan
Adamson University and University of the East continued their perfect runs in the girls’ and boys’ division, respectively, to open the second round of the UAAP Season 86 High School Volleyball Tournament.
Sparked by setter Fhei Sagaysay’s playmaking, the Lady Baby Falcons kept their undefeated streak going in the girls’ division by sweeping the Junior Golden Tigresses, 25-20, 25-19, 25-21, at the Adamson University Gym on Saturday.
“Siguro number one thing, we thank the Lord sa record namin and then for us na unbeaten kami but we must continue to prepare kasi yung ibang mga team gusto kaming talunin. So kumbaga, best performance ng mga bata pero marami pang lapses, ‘di pa totally ‘yung gusto namin makuha. But still na-execute naman nila nang maayos and made-develop nila ‘yung mental toughness nila pagdating sa loob ng court,” said Adamson head coach JP Yude.
“‘Yung mindset talaga namin is one team at a time, prepare for one team at a time. Lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila give your best, number one sa Panginoon talaga kasi everything will follow then every time give your best and focus sa kung sino ang kalaban.”
It was a closely fought battle in the final set as both teams kept the margin to within three until the 19-17 mark. An attack by Shaina Nitura and a block from both Lhouriz Tuddao as the former increased Adamson’s advantage to four points later in the set.
The Golden Tigresses could no longer get over the hump as two consecutive errors from Rashel Bajamonde and Ysa Chua handed Adamson the win.
Adamson remains at the top of the standings with a perfect 7-0 card, while UST dropped to 4-3 in third place.
Meanwhile, the Junior Warriors completed an elimination head-to-head sweep of the high school boys’ defending champion, Far Eastern University-Diliman, 26-24, 25-20, 25-21.
“Success ‘yung game plan namin so talagang pinaghandaan namin ‘yung FEU since sila naman ‘yung defending champions,” shared head coach Raffy Mosuela after UE improved to 8-0. “The start na nag-holiday, talagang nag-focus kami doon sa mga scouting ng team nila.”
The Baby Tamaraws built a 13-7 lead to begin the third set. With the score at 17-12, the Junior Warriors rallied five consecutive points consisting of two attacks from Lance Babon and Xyrone Montemayor, along with three attack errors from the FEU side to tie things up at 17.
After a brief exchange of points, UE gained a two-point advantage thanks to a Clarence Gianan kill and an off-the-block attack from Jan Macam, 22-20.
The Junior Warriors clinched three of the last four points off an attack by Macam and back-to-back block points from Gianan that locked in the win, 25-21.
FEU-D stumbled to its second consecutive loss for a 5-3 record in third place.
In other boys’ results, coming off from a four-set loss at the hands of UE, UST scored a bounce-back win over UPIS, 25-4, 25-21, 25-9.
Entering the third frame with a two-set advantage, the Junior Golden Spikers continued to assert their dominance with a 12-2 lead after scoring eight unanswered points early in the set.
UST stretched their lead to 14 and took the last three points due to a service error by Marco Bamba, an attack by Paolo Medino, and a service ace from Ron Poja that secured the victory at 25-9.
UST brought its record to an even 4-4 and is currently fifth in the standings.
UPIS, who is on a seven-game losing skid, remains in seventh place with a 1-7 record.
DLSZ, on the other hand, opened their second-round campaign on a high note after defeating UPIS in four sets, 25-15, 18-25, 25-19, 25-16, to notch their second consecutive victory in the girls’ tournament.
After dropping the second set, the Junior Lady Spikers climbed back to win the next two sets. DLSZ established an 8-6 lead early in the third frame before going on a seven-point run that saw Julia Andres score five service aces.
The Junior Lady Spikers then pulled away to a 10-point lead at 23-13. The Fighting Maroons scored the next three points credited to a service error from Sabine Valdez and two off-the-block kills from Janella Guarino.
An attack error from Guarino sent DLSZ to match point before Juliene Mindanao sealed the match with a kill, 25-16.
DLSZ improved to 3-4 and holds the fifth spot in the standings, while UPIS, still searching for its first win, fell to 0-7.
