Adamson’s Rizza Cruz (11) and Kate Santiago (9) protect the net against UE. MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Adamson encountered some scary moments before holding off University of the East, 25-16, 25-19, 20-25, 27-25, on Saturday at the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball.
Kate Santiago imposed herself at the net with 18 points built on 16 attacks while Trisha Tubu smashed her way to 11 attacks out of 13 points as the Lady Falcons picked up their eighth victory against three defeats.
“It was a long game and they almost had us. Good thing, we were able to recover,” said Adamson coach Jerry Yee after the Lady Warriors nearly forced a deciding five-setter.
Team captain Louie Romero delivered 24 of Adamson’s 27 excellent sets and middle blocker Aprylle Tagsip helped stabilize the Adamson defense that denied UE a first-ever win this season in 11 games.
“We have to be consistent regardless of who we face. This is an important win for us,” said Romero after the Lady Falcons temporarily got out of a triple tie at second place with the University of the Santo Tomas Tigresses and the National University Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Warriors stayed within striking distance early in the first set before Tubu, Lorence Toring and Lucille Almonte saw holes in the UE defense and exploited them.
Tubu’s crosscourt spike paired with an ace surged the Lady Falcons ahead, 18-14, while Toring and Almonte bludgeoned the other side with successive killer strikes that secured Adamson the opening frame.
Adamson Lady Falcons. MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
They pressed on the pounding in the succeeding set with Santiago and Tagsip piecing together a seven-point spread that set the tone for another rout.
Janeca Lana and KC Cepada kept the Lady Warriors engaged with a series of attacks, but errors accelerated their downfall coupled with the incessant counterblow from Adamson’s hitters.
UE attempted to alter the complexion of the game as the Lady Warriors took command of the third set early, thanks to the initiative of Vanessa Bangayan as well as the stops anchored on Nogales that cushioned the absence of Lana on the floor after spraining her ankle.
Bangayan’s continuous shelling pushed them up in front, 20-14, and Cepeda smelled blood, fending off Adamson’s rally with back-to-back spikes, the last one through the hands of Tagsip that rewarded UE the set.
The Lady Warriors were off again to a great start in the fourth, hoping to sustain the gains of the previous set.
Summoning back their feisty form, the Lady Falcons leaned on Tubu and Santiago in erasing a 9-5 deficit and quickly turned it around.
But Bangayan, unstoppable with her high-powered smashes, brought UE back to life as they engaged Adamson to a battle of attrition.
Almonte scored off a block as the Lady Falcons claimed the advantage, 26-25, and in the end the Lady Warriors simply handed the victory away with Cepada’s spike hitting the net.
Bangayan scored a career-high 27 points built on 25 kills for the Lady Warriors and had 14 digs and a block.