Oct. 3, 2014, 2:40 p.m. – THE UST Junior Golden Tigresses failed in
their bid for back-to-back titles, losing to a determined National University
side, 21-25, 26-28, 28-26, 12-25, in Game 2 of the UAAP Season 77 girls’
volleyball tournament at the Adamson Gym Thursday.
The
Lady Bullpups clinched their first championship in UAAP history.
Down
two sets to none, the Golden Tigresses unleashed a quick 5-0 run to gain the
lead late in the third set, 20-18.
Czarina
Cudias then sealed a tight set with a service ace to keep UST alive, 28-26.
But
the Tigresses crumbled defensively in the fourth set as NU mounted a commanding
11-point lead, 8-19, after a 6-0 run by the Lady Bullpups, highlighted by five
aces from Caitlyn Viray.
Eya
Laure tried to rally UST but Faith Nisperos clinched the title for NU with a
powerful attack, 12-25.
“Naging
poor ‘yung floor defense. Kahit ang ganda ng mga atake namin, hindi rin namin
na-utilize,” UST head coach Emilio Reyes said. “But my players did
their best.”
After
dropping the opening set, UST had a chance to equalize after a blistering 7-0
run to arrive at set point, 24-16.
But NU
came back with a strong 8-0 run to tie things up at 24.
A
controversial illegal attack on Laure gave the victory for the Lady Bullpups, 26-28.
Despite
missing out on back-to-back titles, team captain and graduating senior Pauline
Gaston received the Best Blocker award while Laure was named Best Attacker.
Far
Eastern University’s Rachel Anne Fabro is the Rookie of the Year while NU’s
Nisperos was crowned Most Valuable Player. Angelica P. Abello
