UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas put away its eighth straight win on Wednesday night, but it didn’t come easy.
The UST Tigresses went on full survival mode to survive a giant scare from Ateneo, 25-15, 27-25, 23-25, 28-26, 15-13 in UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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"Bukod dun sa respeto na binibigay namin sa kung sino man ang nagiging kalaban namin, so this time si Ateneo, 'di naman namin kinakalimutan yung respeto namin bilang kami. Kasi lahat naman ng ineexecute samin, especially diyan sa last two points, ineexecute naman namin during training," said UST head coach Kungfu Reyes.
"All we need to do, si Cassie (Carballo), is execute kung anong meron kami sa training namin and luckily tumama yung decision making," he added.
From the second frame onwards, UST treaded a tightrope as every single set bar the first one either went the distance or was decided by just two points.
Sudden death was no different with the game even tied at 13-all in the near three-hour contest right before Jonna Perdido, who fired 17 points, saved UST's perfect win-loss slate with back-to-back kills to cap 66 attack points from the Tigresses.
Even after a sudden dip in form midway through the match, UST flexed a strong all-around showcase led by prospective MVP frontrunner Angge Poyos' 22 points and Reg Jurado's 19 markers, Cassie Carballo's 26 excellent sets, and team captain Detdet Pepitos' 23 receptions and 18 digs.
A tough five-set loss might have sent Ateneo down to a 2-5 (win-loss) card, but it was a brave display to be proud of for the Katipunan side with three Blue Eagles eclipsing the 20-point mark in Lyann De Guzman (22), Sobe Buena (21) and Zel Tsunashima (21).
Meanwhile, Ateneo skipper Roma Doromal manned the floor for Ateneo against a hard-hitting UST side with 22 digs and 18 receptions as Taks Fujimoto orchestrated 19 excellent sets.
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