La Salle volleybelles sweep first round

MANILA, Philippines—La Salle completed a first-round sweep of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament by rallying past University of Santo Tomas, 20-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 17-15, in a rematch of last season’s finals over the weekend at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Archers rallied from a 1-7 deficit in the deciding fifth set behind Abigail Maraño, Cha Cruz and Michelle Gumabao to nail their seventh straight victory.

“UST had a more polished game in their blocking, reception and floor defense, but the positive thing that happened here was our players had a good test and showed heart,” said coach Ramil de Jesus of his Lady Archers, who are bidding for back-to-back crowns.

The loss pushed the Tigresses down to 4-3 behind Ateneo (5-1) and Adamson (4-2).

In the other women’s duel last Sunday, University of the East ended a three-game skid with a 13-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-14 win over the University of the Philippines for a 2-7 card.