Resilient Lady Tams survive Lady Falcons in UAAP volleyball

MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern University came back stronger from a draining third and fourth set defeats to withstand Adamson in an epic five-setter Wednesday in the UAAP season 76 women’s volleyball tournament.

The Lady Tamaraws came home with a 25-21, 25-20, 29-31, 19-25, 15-10, victory over the Lady Falcons and secured the fourth stop at the end of the first round of eliminations.

Head coach Shaq Delos Santos said that FEU’s morale came crushing after the third set, where it had four chances at wrapping it up but allowed Adamson to score the last three.

But it hardly mattered in the end as the young Lady Tamaraws, with renewed determination, built a crucial 12-9 lead in the fifth set and never looked back.

“We relaxed in the third and fourth set. They were tense and scared to make mistakes, but it was a good thing they were able to handle the pressure,” said Delos Santos.

“Our morale was low after the third set, which we could’ve won but we couldn’t get it.”

Bernadette Pons provided the scoring punch while the Lady Tamaraws’ super blockers Geneveve Casugod and Remy Palma manned the net like a wall.

The rookie Pons finished with a career-best 27 points, while Palma and Casugod finished with 16 and 13, respectively, while combining for 15 of FEU’s season-best 21 blocks.

“This really tested out on how we handle pressure. We used to give up before when we’re in this situation,” Delos Santos said. We just gave them encouragement.”

Not only did the Lady Tamaraws send the Lady Falcons into a frustrating finish, they also pushed them out of the top four entering the second round.

Adamson dropped to 3-4 behind FEU as not even Sheila Pineda’s 29-point heroics could save the Lady Falcons.

Pineda, after coming alive late in the third set to finish what Amanda Villanueva sparked, last gave Adamson the lead, 7-6, in the fifth set.

But the Lady Falcons gave away nine errors in the decisive set to seal their doom.