Tigresses feast on Tamaraws as women’s varsity volleyball returns to action

UST The tigers growl in UAAP Season 84. UAAP PHOTO

With new faces everywhere in the arena, Eya Laure gave the return of women’s volleyball a familiar take on Thursday’s UAAP Season 84.

Laure provided the University of Santo Tomas (UST) a solid anchor to stabilize the team during shaky times as Tigresses took out Lady Tamaraws of Far Eastern University (FEU), 25-23, 25-20 , 25-21, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Laure scored 13 offensively along the way for a total of 14, while Camille Victoria came out of her shell to take home 12 as Tigresses scored her first win in the women’s volleyball comeback game after. The pandemic had to be halted.

“It was a shaky performance, but at least we won,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes, whose team finished second behind Ateneo in the last time the tournament finished women’s volleyball.

The Tigresses made 23 fouls — a controllable total when Lady Tams coughed up 31 — but most of them occurred when UST had acquired soft cushions just to allow the FEU to squeeze in closer.

Rousing debuts

On those occasions, Laure unleashed clutches of blows to allow the King Cobras to hold their ground.

Reyes said: “We made some unwarranted errors and we are happy that we still won the straight sets.

Among the new faces to shine on Thursday were rookies Alyssa Solomon and Bella Belen, who produced a vibrant performance on their senior year debut as National University (NU) crushed Adamson , 25-15, 25-23, 25-18.

Solomon and Belen lead NU’s acclaimed high school squad, the Nazareth School, and continually transfer their talents to higher levels, where they fuel the Lady Bulldogs’ 85-minute journey with Lady Falcons.

Solomon offers 15 points based on 11 attacks, three blocks and one ace, while Belen gets 14 points with 13 out of 22 attack points.

“As a rookie, I’m really excited to be collaborating with my ideas. We’re finally playing together again,” said Belen, former UAAP Girls Best Player who played for the women’s national volleyball team at the Asian Club Championships in Thailand. last year, said.

The Tigers also take advantage of the products of their own remarkable high school program. UST setter Majie Mangulabnan had an excellent 15 sets and four aces as she masterfully pulled UST’s foul in the third set, giving the Tigresses a 19-10 lead. Another former high school star, libero Bernadett Pepito, defended the floor with 12 excellent digs and 9 catches.

More consistent

Lady Tamaraws, however, was not easily defeated and fought back in an attempt to force another set. The FEU fought within four points, 22-18, before Laure and Ysa Jimenez delivered game-ending blows.

“Our players recovered from all the errors but we allowed the FEU to hold a lengthy rally,” Reyes said. “They took almost six points [off our lead] because we didn’t recover immediately.”

“Hopefully in the next match, the players will be more stable. We need to get back to the drawing board so we can polish what we need to polish and fix our flaws.”

UST will also need to monitor the starting condition of central midfielder Imee Hernandez, who left the game with a sprain from a poor landing.

Reyes removed his star from UST’s next game.

“It was a really bad landing and hopefully it’s just a first-degree sprain,” Reyes said. “Hopefully she can come back next week because Saturday is a long day for her.”

Meanwhile, La Salle beat Ateneo, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20, in a later game.

Baby Jyne Soreño and rookie Leiah Malaluan made the difference in helping Lady Spikers overcome the defeat in the first set and outlast the defending champions.

—A REPORT FROM LANCE AGCAOILI

Continue reading

Do not miss the latest news and information.

For feedback, complaints or enquiries, Contact us.