UST’S volleyball squads began their respective UAAP campaigns with a loss.
The defending champions Tiger Spikers, who are aiming for a fifth straight crown, suffered an upset against the University of the Philippines in a nail-biting five-setter, 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 16-18, at the Arena in San Juan last Nov. 27.
The day before, the Lady Spikers got swept by the Ateneo de Manila University in three sets, 16-25, 23-25,18-25.
A string of miscues in the final frame doomed the Tiger Spikers as team captain Jayson Ramos’ attacks went wide while Christian Alabastro committed a service error.
UP’s Luis Aguilan and Jeffrey Lansangan blocked Mark Alfafara’s powerful spike to put the Maroons ahead, 17-16. UST’s Romnick Rico committed an error on his attack, giving UP the match point, 16-18.
Ramos and Alfafara led UST with 21 points apiece, while UP’s Samuel Paquiz had a game-high 26 markers.
“The players were overconfident. During the end game, the maturity of my players was never felt because of their bad decisions,” coach Emil Lontoc said.
After a hotly contested first frame, UST roared back and nailed the next two sets, 25-18, 25-18, courtesy of Ramos’ off-the-block spikes. Alfafara made his presence on defense, leading the Tigers to an early 11-6 advantage in blocks.
But UP quickly erased UST’s one-set advantage as Paquiz scored on back-to-back spikes to spark a 9-4-counter salvo.
Errors also plagued the Lady Spikers’ opening game against Ateneo, which was led by former UST highschool standout Alyssa Valdez’s 13 points. UST’s Maruja Banaticla scored 12. Alexis U. Cerado and Chenny V. Ramos
