Lady Tams end skid, compound Tigresses’ woes in UAAP volleyball
MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern University leaned on a torrid finish to frustrate University of Santo Tomas and end its two-game slide Saturday in the UAAP season 76 women’s volleyball tournament.
The Lady Tamaraws clawed back from a 15-20 deficit in the fourth set for an inspired 15-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-22 win over the woeful Tigresses.
Remy Palma was a revelation, especially in the second set where she towed FEU to a momentum-swinging 19-9 lead, and finished with a game-high 20 points.
Another towering Lady Tamaraw in Geneveve Casugod was a force to reckon with at the net, scoring on seven blocks — two more than the entire Tigresses combined — for 10 points.
“You saw how good the girls played today,” said head coach Shaq Delos Santos in Filipino amid shrieks from the Lady Tamaraws heading to the dugout after the game.
Rookie Bernadette Pons also contributed 13 points, 11 from hits and two from aces, and carried FEU in a swashbuckling 10-2 run to wrap up the fourth set and the game.
The Lady Tamaraws improved to 3-3 towards the close of the first round, just a half a game behind fourth-running Adamson (4-3).
“We have a target to get to the top four. If we beat Adamson in the next game, we have a chance. I told them we can’t enter the 2nd round with low morale,” Delos Santos said.
The Tigresses, meanwhile, ended the first round with a disappointing 2-5 card as they dropped back-to-back hardfought matches.
Pam Lastimosa wound up with 18 points in another losing effort after she finished with 23 in their five-setter loss to Ateneo last Wednesday.
It was another frustrating finish for the Tigresses, who would start out firing on all cylinders only to lose steam in the end.
