6 March 2019
By Ardyn Gonzales
The University of Sto. Tomas Lady Tigresses surprised everyone as they handed the De La Salle University Lady Spikers rare back-to-back losses, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17, to force a three-way tie in the third to fifth spots in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament, Wednesday, at the FilOil Flying-V Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Tigresses started the first frame with a comfortable 11-3 lead with Sisi Rondina and Eya Laure doing some damage. The Lady Spikers attempted to inch closer, but UST managed to pull away to close out the set.
La Salle had a better performance in the second set with neither team mounting a huge advantage. Unfortunately, after forcing a 22-all deadlock, the Lady Spikers committed three crucial unforced errors that gave the Lady Tigresses a 2-0 lead in the match.
With their backs against the wall, La Salle stayed within reach in the third set until UST once again built a huge lead after the second technical timeout. An attack error from Desiree Cheng ended the match in favor of the incomplete Lady Tigresses.
The odds were against UST as one of their ace spikers Milena Alessandrini is expected to sit out indefinitely after injuring her left knee in their previous game against FEU. And to make things even worse, they would face a La Salle team who is looking to bounce back after a painful five-set loss to UP.
However, UST did not back down from the challenge and defeated the defending champions in straight sets.
The tandem of Sisi Rondina and Eya Laure led the pack with 19 and 15 points, respectively. With Dimdim Pacres stepping up for Milena Alessandrini with 8 points and 13 excellent digs.
All La Salle players were held down to just single-point output, with Jolina dela Cruz, Norielle Ipac, and Aduke Ogunsanya had 8 points each.
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