The University of the East Lady Warriors refused to end the first round of eliminations winless after defeating the Adamson University Lady Falcons in a five-set duel, 25-22, 22-25, 14-25, 25-20, 25-13 in UAAP Women’s Volleyball, Sunday, at FilOil Flying-V Arena in San Juan City.
All eyes were on the Lady Falcons who were coming into the game brimming with confidence after a big win against the defending champions La Salle. Coach Air Padda, however, surprised everyone with her starters, excluding Chiara Permentilla, Eli Soyud, and team captain Jema Galanza in the first six.
The experiment of Coach Air seemed to work in the early part of the first set, leading UE to enter the first technical timeout. Mary Ann Mendrez then carried the Lady Warriors with unanswered hits to steal the lead at 14-12. UE was able to pull away and maintain the advantage, concluded by another Mendrez’ down-the-line hit.
Galanza, Soyud, and Permentilla played off-the-bench in the succeeding sets, dominating the Lady Warriors in the second and third frames for a 2-1 edge. But the unforced errors of Adamson piled up in the fourth, giving away 16 free points that allowed UE to force a decider.
UE continued their momentum in the fifth set, banking on the well-placed shots to establish an early 8-4 lead.The Lady Warriors were the first to reach match point at 14-11 after a block by Seth Rodgriguez.
With their backs against the wall, Adamson cut down the lead to a single point 14-13, but another well-placed shot this time from Shaya Adorador was undefended again by the Lady Falcons to tally their first win this season under a new head coach Rodrigo Roque.
Mary Ann Mendrez and Shaya Adorador led UE with 12 and 11 points, respectively. But it was the libero Kat Arado who had an outstanding performance with 24 excellent digs and 32 excellent receptions.
Player of the Game: Kat Arado, 24 excellent digs and 32 excellent receptions
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