THE UST Tiger Sands suffered their first loss after faltering in straight sets against the NU Bulldogs, 22-20, 21-17, in the UAAP Season 86 men’s beach volleyball tournament at the SM Sands by the Bay on Saturday.
NU rose to a league-best 7-0 win-loss record, while UST dropped to a 6-1 slate for the second spot.
It was a seesaw battle in the second frame with 10 deadlocks, but the NU Bulldogs, with a 13-11 lead, pulled away with a 6-3 burst that increased their lead to five.
A Rey Varga kill and back-to-back Alchie Gupiteo points trimmed the NU lead to two, forcing NU to call a timeout, 19-17.
However, NU responded with two straight points capped by a James Buytrago block kill to give the Bulldogs the win, 21-17.
With the first set tied at 20-all, the Varga-Gupiteo tandem committed back-to-back errors that gave NU the set-one advantage, 22-20.
“Medyo nawala ‘yong receive and mahina ‘yong blockings eh, do’n nagkulang,” UST head coach Paul Jan Doloiras told the Varsitarian.
“Elims pa lang naman, mas titibayan pa namin ‘yong depensa para sa semis, lalo na ‘yong blockings kasi malaking factor ‘yon para maka-secure ulit ng panalo.”
The Tiger Sands will next face the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 8:45 a.m. at the same venue.
