By Ardyn Gonzales
The Adamson University Lady Falcons tallied their third win after a stunning straight set victory over the University of Sto. Tomas Golden Tigresses, 25-27, 25-22, 25-12, in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Adamson was trailing late in the first set, 24-23, when a strong crosscourt attack from Frances Mordi forced a deuce. The Golden Tigresses and Lady Falcons exchanged a string of sideouts until Shaina Nitura delivered the finishing blow to claim the extended opener.
Adamson and UST were deadlocked at 22-all in the second set, but this time, it was the Lady Falcons’ turn to surge ahead with three straight points to close out the set and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
It was all Adamson in the third set as they dominated the Golden Tigresses with a 16-5 lead heading into the second technical timeout. UST showed some signs of life but the Lady Falcons were able to finish off the Golden Tigresses maintaining a huge double-digit lead.
The tandem of Mordi and Nitura led Adamson with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Setter Fhei Sagaysay dished out 12 excellent sets and five service aces. The Lady Falcons relied heavily on their heavy services, scoring 11 aces as a team overall, not including the serves that forced UST to play out-of-system.
Meanwhile, only Reg Jurado was the bright spot for UST who finished with 17 points. The Golden Tigresses’ ace player Angge Poyos was held to just five points, far from her usual numbers.
In a tight competition in the final four race, Adamson (3-2) scored a crucial win against fellow contender UST (2-3). The Lady Falcons will hope to hand La Salle (5-0) their first loss of the season, while UST will hope to recover quickly against UP (3-1).
Featured image courtesy of UAAP
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