By: Justine Anne Gaerlan
Far Eastern University-Diliman and University of Santo Tomas extended their unbeaten streaks with commanding victories in the UAAP Season 87 High School Girls’ Volleyball Tournament on Sunday at Paco Arena in Manila.
The Lady Baby Tamaraws dominated the Ateneo Blue Eagles, with a 25-12, 25-18, 25-11, to go 4-0.
Meanwhile, the Junior Tigresses, even without head coach Kungfu Reyes, cruised to a straight-sets win over the De La Salle-Zobel Junior Lady Spikers, 25-13, 25-18, 25-21, securing a 3-0 record.
For the Baby Lady Tamaraws, Aleah Devosora powered the team with an impressive 15 points, including 10 attacks and five service aces.
Team captain Raine Alonzo also delivered, contributing 10 points, with eight coming from attacks.
The match lasted only 54 minutes as the Lady Baby Tamaraws overwhelmed Ateneo in every aspect of the game.
On the defensive side, Dennz Relox anchored the backline with 13 excellent digs, while Sheena Cafe orchestrated the offense with precision, tallying 14 excellent sets to guide her team to victory.
“Masaya kami kasi wala pang talo, 4-0 pero siyempre hindi pa tapos ‘yung first round. Meron pa kaming last two games. Medyo mabigat, Adamson tsaka UST. Kailangan lang namin ma-plantsa, kumbaga ‘yung mga error namin or ‘yung mga mali namin kailangan namin ma-correct,” said FEU-D head coach Joanne Bunag.
Bunag emphasized the importance of maintaining focus and improving their blocking and floor defense, especially against taller teams like Adamson and UST.
“Lalo na ‘pag Adamson at UST medyo matatangkad sila, kailangan namin sumabay. Sinasabi ko nga sa player ko, hindi kasi natin kailangan magkampante kahit nasa top na kami, kami na ‘yung number one… ile-less lang namin ‘yung error namin tapos magiging maganda ‘yung laro,” the FEU legend added.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
In UST’s match, Lianne Penuliar led the Junior Golden Tigresses with 10 points, including five attacks and four blocks.
Her performance, along with Avril Bron’s solid 10-point contribution, helped UST secure their third straight victory in the match that lasted an hour and 11 minutes.
On the side of the Junior Lady Spikers, Juliene Mindanao, Sabine Valdez, and Aislinn Alemaña each contributed six points.
However, their efforts weren’t enough to stop UST, and DLSZ dropped to a 1-3 record, tying with University of the Philippines Integrated School for fifth place in the standings.
Ateneo remained winless in five outings.
