UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas and Adamson University completed sweeps of their respective groups in the PVL Collegiate Conference on Saturday in San Juan.
Eya Laure scored 20 points as UST turned back undermanned Arellano University, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, to clinch the top seed in Pool B.
Laure had 17 kills, two aces and a block laced with 10 digs in her last match with the Tigresses in the preseason tournament before joining the Philippine women’s volleyball team in Thailand on Sunday for the training camp along with UST coach KungFu Reyes.
“Malaking bagay pa rin na panalo at least on a high note yung tapos namin,” said Reyes.
“Pero kung paano kami nanalo kanina yun ang medyo hindi maganda doon sa ginagalaw namin.”
Assistant coach Yani Fernandez will take over for the rest of the tournament.
“Hindi namin nakuha yung tempo kami yung sumasabay kay arellano pero naiiwanan kami ni Arellano sa galaw. Luckily kahit nakatayo kami pumupuntos kami ibig sabihin ang daming give away points ni Arellano sa amin,” Reyes added.
KC Galdones had 13 points and nine digs, while Janne Torres nailed four blocks and finished with 11 markers for UST, which will face the No. 2 seed from Pool A.
Ateneo at 3-1 is on track for the No. 2 spot in Pool A. The Lady Eagles face Perpetual Help (1-3) on Sunday.
“Medyo grabe ang galawan sa kabilang bracket everybody’s game kasi zero zero na ulit, best of three,” Reyes said.
Nicole Sasuman scored 14 and Charmina Dino added 13 for the Lady Chiefs.
Mikaela Juanich and Alyana San Gregorio added 10 markers as Arellano finished the conference with three straight losses and a 2-3 card.
Meanwhile, Trisha Genesis and Ceasa Piñar scored 13 points apiece as Adamson’s completed a Pool A sweep with a 25-13, 25-23, 25-13 victory over Letran (1-4).
Rookie Louie Romero had 27 excellent sets as the Lady Falcons sealed the top place of Pool A.
College of Saint Benilde (3-1) is on track to take No. 2 spot in Pool B, as it faces Technological Institute of the Philippines (0-4) on Sunday.
“Marami pang dapat gamutin. Kahit nananalo kami,” said Adamson coach Lerma Giron. “Binabalanse namin lahat e. Ayaw namin ilagay sa utak nila na ang galing galing nila pero sa katotohanan talaga, marami pa dapat trabahuhin. Nasa proseso pa sila, kahit undefeated.”
Chamberlaine Cunada was the lone bright spot for Letran with 10 points as her team ended the conference with one win in five matches.
Earlier, Nieza Viray unloaded 13 hits as San Beda (3-2) kept its semis hopes alive in Pool A with a 25-22, 25-16, 25-18 victory over San Sebastian (1-4).
The Lady Red Spikers are hoping Ateneo would lose its Pool A game against TIP to force a playoff for the last semis berth.
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