Lady Tamaraws outwork Tigresses in UAAP volleyball

MANILA, Philippines—With renewed vigor, Far Eastern University outworked University of Santo Tomas, 22-25, 29-27, 25-18, 25-23, Sunday to give its final four hopes a boost in the 75th UAAAP women’s volleyball tournament.

The Lady Tamaraws, who notched their second win under new coach Kid Santos, recovered from a first set misstep and just came out as the more eager squad, pushing the Tigresses into frustration.

“Masigla sila,” Santos told the reporters after the game. “Alam nila na pinaghihirapan nila kaya hindi sila basta basta bumibigay.”

It was in the second set where FEU scored a momentum-changing 29-27 victory, which pumped hope and energy the Lady Tamaraws were able to sustain to the end.

Rosemarie Vargas had a particularly great night with 17 points with five service aces and tip, which gave FEU back-to-back victories. Wenneth Eulalio also had 17.

The Lady Tamaraws kept the Tigresses at bay in the fourth set, always having an answer to neutralize their run.

UST tied the match at 23 on efforts from veteran Tigress Judy Caballejo, but Remy Palma retaliated with a quick hit before Vargas tipped it home for the finish.

Palma added 12 points while Marjorie Roxas and Marie Toni Basas had 10 hits each to complete the Lady Tamaraws’ double-digit scorers.

UST wasted a chance to clinch solo third, and lodged itself into a three way tie with National University and Adamson, which  all have a 4-3 card—just a game ahead of FEU.

Caballejo led with 12 points but did not do enough to carry the Tigresses to a win. Maika Ortiz added 11 and Carmela Tunay had nine.

The late part of third could best describe UST’s struggles: FEU skipper Gyzelle Sy came up with an uncontested point to cap a 5-1 run for the Lady Tamaraws, giving them a 2-1 set lead.