Lady Maroons sink Lady Sailors, win V-League bronze

University of the Philippines got a lift from its young spikers to upend veteran Philippine Navy, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 25-15, to seize the bronze medal in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Reinforced Conference Sunday at San Juan Arena.

Rookie Justine Dorog smashed one home to put the Lady Maroons at match point, 24-15, before the Lady Sailors committed a costly error that sealed the UP victory.

Lady Maroons head coach Gerry Yee said their first podium finish was something he did not expect considering his team went up against seasoned squads and their V-League stint was exactly what gave his players the experience they needed.

“I saw them mature [in this tournament] and the bronze medal finish was unexpected for us,” said Yee, whose team won Game 1 of their best-of-three battle for third in four sets, 18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-10, last Saturday. “We wanted to get as much experience as possible because this atmosphere, the air-conditioning, the crowd, the cameras.”

It was also Dorog who gave University of the Philippines a 22-10 lead in the third set.

Dorog and team captain Kathy Bersola led the Lady Maroons with 17 points apiece, while rookie Maria Molde added 16 points and veteran Nicole Tiamzon had 13.

Pau Soriano led the Lady Sailors with 15 points while Lilet Mabbayad had 13.

University of the Philippines presented a relentless attack on Philippine Navy as it registered 65 spikes while the Lady Sailors only managed to counter with 49.

Defense was also a big part of the UP game as the Lady Maroons tallied 10 points off blocks to go along nine service aces.