MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The UST Tigresses finally entered the win column of the UAAP Season 78 women's volleyball tournament after defeating the UE Lady Warriors in straight sets, 25-18, 25-8, 25-23, on Wednesday, February 17, at the San Juan Arena.
Dominant from start to finish, UST clearly looked like the superior team en route to winning for the first time in 4 games. UE, meanwhile, dropped to 0-4 this season.
Spearheaded by 34 attacks and 23 points from its opponents' errors, UST cruised to an easy first win that their head coach believes can help the squad's overall mentality after a disappointing start to the season.
"Talagang medyo malayo pa (the UAAP season). At least ito, talagang morale booster para sa kanila," Tigresses head coach Emilio Reyes said post-game.
(There's still a long way to go in the season. At least this win is a morale booster for them.)
UST didn't waste time being the aggressor as it out-attacked UE in the first set, 11-7, leading to a 25-18 win.
The second set was sheer dominance for the Tigers, as they outscored the Lady Warriors 25-8, with 4 of UE's coming points thanks to UST's own errors.
The Tigresses seemed like they were on their way to an easy third set win after going ahead 24-18, but UE came roaring back to within one. Unfortunately for Francis Vicente's team, an error by captain ball Judith Abil on the final rally cost them the game.
"Napaka-haba pa nung liga," Reyes said. "'Yung panalo, dadating 'yan pag pinagtrabahuhan namin."
(The league is still a far way from ending. The wins, those will come if we work for them.)
UST also out-blocked UE, 11-6, plus had more excellent digs, 22-16, and sets, 16-8.
The Tigresses return to action on Saturday, February 20, when they face NU, while the Lady Warriors' next opponent will be the DLSU Lady Spikers on Sunday, February 21. – Rappler.com