THE UST Tiger Sands denied their National University foes for the second year in a row and kept their crowns in the UAAP Season 86 beach volleyball tournaments at the SM Sands by the Bay on Tuesday.
UST cruised to its fifth and sixth straight title in the men’s and women’s divisions and their eighth and ninth overall.
Tiger Sands Rancel Varga and Alche Gupiteo handed the NU Bulldogs’ tandem of James Buytrago and Alex Iraya their only loss of the season in their knockout finals, 21–15, 24-22.
Gupiteo scored three straight points to give UST a one-point lead, 15-14.
The Bulldogs responded with a 5-2 run to take a three-point lead, but UST scored three straight points to tie the second set at 19-all.
After four straight deadlocks, it was the Tiger Sands who emerged victorious after a Gupiteo crosscourt kill and an Iraya attack error.
Tied at 5-all in the first frame, UST blasted away with a 12-5 run to mount a seven-point cushion.
After a 4-1 NU spurt, UST answered with a 3-1 blitz capped by a Gupiteo off-the-block kill to win the first set, 21-15.
In women’s play, the rookie-senior tandem of Sofiah Pagara and Gen Eslapor thwarted NU’s Honey Cordero and Kly Orillaneda, 21-10, 21-17.
The Tiger Sands opened the game with a 12-3 scoring barrage, with the three points they gave up coming from their attack errors. They maintained their momentum to take the first set.
UST captured the championship after a 21-17 second set highlighted by 14 Pagara points. Pagara was named Rookie of the Year.
Eslapor and Gupiteo were hailed Most Valuable Players in their respective divisions.
NU and FEU were second and third, respectively, in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
