UST Tigresses’ Eya Laure. UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—University of Santo Tomas recovered from a forgettable defeat, smashing through the defenses of the University of the Philippines in straight sets, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20, on Saturday at the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball.
Eya Laure presided over the Golden Tigresses’ bounce-back victory with 14 points, including 11 attacks, on top of six digs, a pair of blocks and an ace.
Imee Hernandez was also in stealth mode following a sorry loss at the hands of the Adamson Lady Falcons last time out, pummeling the Lady Maroons’ end with nine attacks out of her 11 points and two aces.
“In our last game, we didn’t expect that we would perform that way. We worked it out during training and we were able to execute them properly this time,” said Hernandez.
The Tigresses rose to 3-2 and earned the bragging rights of defeating defending champion National University prior to their Adamson setback. It ended NU’s 20-game streak since 2020.
Milena Alessandrini returned to the floor after hurting her right foot against NU and unloaded 10 points, Cassie Carballo had 16 excellent sets and Bernadett Pepito contributed 11 digs for the Tigresses, who will wrap up the first round against Ateneo and University of the East.
“That (defeat) was an eye-opener. Good thing we were able to get back from that loss. It’s a good start before we end the first round,” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes.
Jewel Encarnacion and Stephanie Bustrillo scored 10 points each for the Lady Maroons, who absorbed their fourth defeat in five outings.