MANILA, Philippines — EJ Laure made her debut and University of Santo Tomas hardly broke a sweat in disposing of listless University of the East, 25-11, 25-12, 25-14, in the opener of the UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball tournament Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Laure, former girls MVP out of UST high school, showed flashes of things to come as she led the Golden Tigresses’ early attacks.
“We started the season right,” said UST head coach Odjie Mamon. “(It’s) not really a (good) gauge because UE is a rebuilding team. It’s not that we’re underestimating them but everything is just new to them.”
“But definitely we will be tested in our next game,” said Mamon, whose team faces De La Salle on Nov. 30.
Laure had eight points in limited playing time as the Tigresses scored lopsided victories each set.
UST skipper Pam Lastimosa had 12 points to lead all scorers while Ria Meneses chipped in seven.
The Tigresses took advantage of the Lady Warriors’ error-prone performance.
UE, which had 27 miscues, slumped to its 32nd straight loss dating back to three seasons.
UST is raring to get back into the Final Four after missing the semifinals in the previous two seasons including a sixth-place finish last year.
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