HEAR them roar in the face of bows and arrows - again and again and again and again.
University of Santo Tomas asserted their mastery over La Salle in another five-set heavyweight bout, 25-12, 22-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-13, in UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball on Wednesday.
Behind unstoppable Angge Poyos, the Golden Tigresses shot down the Lady Spikers through a pulsating comeback at the Mall of Asia Arena - just like they did in last year’s Final Four.
The reigning Rookie of the Year was unleashed with a huge 28-piece, on top of 16 digs and six receptions, all while coming up big in the endgame.
"Talagang pinakita lang talaga namin kung ano kami and yung composure namin sa loob ng court. Yun talaga yung nagdala, yung communication, yun yung pinakaimportante. Nawala man kami ng second set, pero bumalik lang kami sa sistema and nagtiwala lang kami sa isa’t-isa," said Poyos.
Even UST's non-scoring aces proved to be masters of their crafts with Detdet Pepito's 24-dig, 16-reception double-double and Cassie Carballo's 22 excellent sets.
UST, master of five sets
Altogether, the black-and-gold's four straight wins — including this one today — against their Taft rivals since 2023 were all decided in five sets.
"'Yung sinasabi ngang rivalry (with La Salle), talagang pinanindigan na rin namin," said deputy Yani Fernandez, speaking for head coach Kungfu Reyes.
"On our end naman, kahit naman sino 'yung kalaban namin, either La Salle or NU or kung sino mang UAAP teams, talagang ayun nga, sabi ng mga bata, pusuan lang talaga namin 'yung game."
While the two teams went blow-for-blow for majority of the match, however, it was a double contact violation on Lady Spikers rookie libero Pia Rodriguez that gifted Golden Tigresses the win in an anticlimactic Set 5 finish.
Tough a loss it might've been, Angel Canino still aimed sharply with a triple-double of 25 points, 17 digs, and 16 receptions which went for naught, as La Salle continued to struggle against its modern-day rivals.
This is also the Lady Spikers' first 1-2 start to a campaign since Season 68 in 2005.
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