THE UST Golden Tigresses came up short against an improved University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, 19-25, 18-25, 25-16, 32-30, in the UAAP Season 78 women’s volleyball tournament at the San Juan Arena Sunday.
The Lady Maroons capitalized on the Tigresses’ 38 unforced errors while scoring 14 block points.
A service error from Tigress Chloe Cortez and a block on Cherry Ann Rondina’s attack gave the win to the Lady Maroons.
UP had the lead late in the fourth set, 19-22, before the Tigresses ignited a 11-8 run to tie the game, 30-all.
Diana Carlos led UP with 15 markers, while UST’s Rondina and captain EJ Laure had 20 points apiece.
The Lady Maroons caught up with the Golden Tigresses after being down by as much as eight points in the middle of the third set, 12-15, before UST closed the set with a 10-4 eruption.
The Tigresses were behind by only two in the middle of the second set, 11-13, before UP pulled away with a 9-1 blitz to build a 22-12 cushion.
UP was leading late in the opening salvo, 20-11, before UST uncorked a 7-1 run to regain momentum, 18-21. But the Lady Maroons scored three points to arrive at set point.
“‘Yung error pa rin ‘yung nagpapahirap sa amin. Lumaban kami hanggang sa dulo kaya nga lang came up short ngayong araw,” UST head coach Emilio “Kung Fu” Reyes said.
Up next for the UST is De La Salle University on March 2, Wednesday, 4 p.m., at the same venue.
