WHEN it rains, it definitely pours for the UST Lady Spikers.
In the same year UST crashed out of the UAAP Final Four for the first time in 10 seasons, the Lady Spikers also failed to reach the Shakey’s V-League finals for the first time in team history.
The España-based volleybelles have reached the championship round in all the nine conferences they participated in during the 10-year-old tournament, winning a league-high of six titles.
But the streak came to an end when UST were swept and ousted by the Ateneo de Manila University in their best-of-three, semi-finals series 13-25, 25-23, 23-25, 13-25 at the Mall of Asia Arena last May 16.
Despite the team’s woes this year, UST coach Odjie Mamon remained optimistic on the Lady Spikers’ future.
“Not our year,” Mamon admitted. “But there’s [nowhere] to go but up.”
He added: “We may have had a not-so-successful season but the amount of exposure I’ve given to [the players], it would carry us through for next [UAAP] season.”
Good for third
UST managed to salvage a third-place finish in their worst V-League season by outplaying Adamson University in Game 3 of their best-of-three, battle-for-third series.
The Lady Spikers, sans guest player Aizo Maizo who missed the game due to a family emergency, hacked out a four-set victory in their winner-take-all showdown, 25-18, 19-25, 25-19, 25-16 at the Phil Sports Arena last June 2.
“We didn’t make it to the finals, but the next best thing for us is third place. This is our target,” Mamon said.
This conference’s Most Improved Player Pamela Lastimosa picked up the slack for UST by scoring a game-high 19 points. Veteran Maika Ortiz chalked up 16 markers while Carmela Tunay bucked her lethargic four-point Game 2 outing by chipping in 12 points.
Pau Soriano led the charge for Adamson with 13 markers.
Following the Lady Falcons’ resurgence in the second set to tie the game at one apiece, UST recovered their bearings in the pivotal third frame with intensified floor defense and precise attacks to take a 10-point lead, 21-11, capped by Ingrid Reyes’ off-the-block hit.
Later in the set, the Lady Spikers fended off Adamson’s late push by scoring three-straight points, punctuated by Tunay’s block on Angela Benting to give UST a 2-1 set lead, 25-19.
The two squads went back-and-forth in the fourth frame before UST broke a 15-all deadlock with a 9-0 blitz by exploiting Adamson’s erratic service reception to jump on a 24-15 advantage.
Benting scored one more point for the Lady Falcons before Soriano’s drop ball went out-of-play which ended the set and the match, 25-16.
“This win’s for Ate Aiza,” Lastimosa said in reference to Maizo, who flew to Iloilo to attend to her ill son. “We dedicate this win to her, and we really wanted to end our season with a victory.”
With the V-League season in the books, Mamon noted the points his team needs to work on for the upcoming UAAP season.
“We had our moments when our performance is really down, especially in the end game. That’s where we lack. We need to improve our mental toughness,” he said.
