University of Santo Tomas survived the spirited challenge of University of the East in posting a 25-9, 25-22, 25-23 triumph yesterday in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Tigresses needed to dig deep to out-hustle the Lady Warriors late in the match and also jump into the winning column after back-to-back losses.
The troika of Chloe Cortez, Cherry Rondina, and EJ Laure spearheaded UST’s attacks particularly late in the third frame, where they crawled from a 22-20 deficit en route to the win.
“Hindi ka talaga pwedeng magpabaya kapag kaharap mo ang UE. Kapag binigyan mo sila ng tsansa, kakainin ka talaga nila,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes.
Ria Meneses fired 13 points, while Laure and Rondina chipped in 12 points apiece for the Tigresses, who outplayed the Lady Warriors in attacks, 39-16.
UST was enjoying a comfortable 10-5 second-set cushion when UE went on attack mode courtesy of Mary Anne Mendrez and Laizah Bendong to tie, 22-all.
But Laure was quick to steer the Tigresses by charging at the net from all angles for the set win.
UE refused to give up in the third and kept the match close, but the Lady Warriors couldn’t stop the smart offense of Cortez and Rondina.