By: Justine Anne Gaerlan
Far Eastern University-Diliman withstood a tough De La Salle-Zobel stand in the third set to secure a 25-16, 25-14, 24-26, 25-8 victory, while University of Santo Tomas overwhelmed Ateneo, 25-9, 25-11, 25-9, to stay within reach of leader Adamson University in the UAAP Season 86 High School Girls’ Volleyball Tournament on Sunday at the Adamson University Gym.
After losing a closely contested third set, the Love Lopez-led Baby Tamaraws built a 10-point cushion in the fourth set and never looked back.
“Nung third set lang doon kasi bumitaw yung mga bata, sinabayan kasi nila yung laro ng La Salle na mayroon naman silang laro, tapos noong huli, ‘di kami naka-receive. ‘Yung mga error namin, doon kami ‘di naka-recover,” said FEU-D head coach Rjay del Rosario regarding the third set collapse.
“Noong fourth set, doon kami nakabawi sa service at receive,” he added.
With the offense seamlessly orchestrated by setter Maile Salang, the Junior Golden Tigresses started the third set with an early 5-1 run, highlighted by back-to-back service aces from Bien Arasan.
UST pulled away, establishing a double-digit lead at 18-8, scoring seven consecutive points credited to attacks from Jacquelin Lipat, block points from Marga Altea and Jai Adrao, and an attack error from Ten Quimpo.
A service ace from Avril Bron set the Junior Golden Tigresses at match point before Ten Quimpo scored a kill to save the Blue Eagles a point. Quimpo then committed a service error that closed out the match in UST’s favor, 25-9.
The Junior Tigresses have won four in a row after losing to the Baby Falcons on opening day.
FEU-D and UST are tied in second place at 4-1, behind Adamson’s perfect 5-0 slate.
DLSZ remained at fifth with a 1-4 record, while Ateneo is at sixth with a 1-5 standing.
Meanwhile, UST bested DLSZ in three sets, 25-7, 25-10, 25-12, to improve to 3-3 on the High School Boys’ side.
The Junior Golden Spikers grabbed an early 8-1 advantage to start the final set. UST continued to surge ahead and built a 14-point lead the Junior Spikers could not overcome.
After DLSZ scored off a pair of errors from UST, Sean Cruz delivered a kill to bring the Junior Golden Spikers to match point. An attack from Kyle Aure saved DLSZ a point before Jancriz Ayco ended the set with a kill to post the victory, 25-12.
UE’s unblemished run continued with a convincing three-set win over Ateneo, 25-12, 25-9, 25-4.
Clarence Gianan’s defensive prowess at the net fueled the Junior Warriors’ dominant 18-point stretch that opened the final frame.
After an attack error from Chilwu Manalo gave Ateneo its first point, UE went on a 4-1 run before allowing the Blue Eagles to score back-to-back points off a quick attack by Diego Avila and an attack error from the Junior Warriors’ side.
From there, UE scored three in a row with the help of attacks from Aaron Ancheta, Xyrone Montemayor, and Luis Pollentes to secure the victory, 25-4.
UE continued to hold the top spot with a 6-0 record.
On the other hand, DLSZ slid to 1-5, while Ateneo remained at eighth with a 0-6 card.
