UAAP: Eya Laure, UST bounce back to top FEU

UST Golden Tigresses. UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—University of Santo Tomas erased a frustrating season-opener with a 25-16, 28-26, 25-21 win over Far Eastern University on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Eya Laure and Jonna Perdido pierced the FEU defense without mercy while rookie setter Cassie Carballo also sparkled as the Golden Tigresses eased the pain of defeat they absorbed from the La Salle Lady Spikers.

“This victory overcame the (bad) feeling of that defeat. Against La Salle, we relaxed after taking the second set and weren’t able to finish strong,” said Laure, who led UST with 17 points, 14 of them coming off power attacks.

The Tigresses didn’t only finish strong, they were on target right from the first set before the Lady Tamaraws threatened to equalize in the succeeding frame.

The Lady Tamaraws attempted to make a run in the third, but Laure caught fire with a series of booming spikes that saw UST level the count at 12 and gain headway for good.

“In terms of scoring, I hardly encountered any difficulty. My teammates are all capable of scoring,” said Carballo, who tossed eight excellent sets.

Perdido’s attack pushed them ahead by three, setting it up for match point before Alyssa Devosora made it easier for the Tigresses to seal the win after accidentally touching the net.

“We’re happy to recover from our last game. We were able to avoid the errors that we committed back then. There were some mistakes near the end, but we were able to manage,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes.

Devosora had 14 points, highlighted by 11 kills and Jovelyn Fernandez added 13 for the Lady Tamaraws, who defeated UP on opening day.