THE UST Golden Tigresses booked a ticket to the finals of the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament for the first time since Season 73 after outlasting three-time defending champion De La Salle University Lady Spikers, 25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 23-25, 15-10, at the Mall of Asia Arena Sunday.
Back-to-back kills from rookie sensation Eya Laure ended a late 4-0 run by UST that sealed victory in the fifth set, 15-10.
“[Bago magsimula ang fifth set], ni-remind ko sila (ang team) na maraming nakataya sa set na ‘yon, at nag-respond naman sila at na-control nila ang laro. Nalagpasan na namin ‘yong gusto naming maabot, pero hindi pa kami titigil dito,” UST head coach Emilio “Kung Fu” Reyes Jr. said.
The Tigresses were down 19-23 in the fourth frame, before uncorking a 4-1 spurt to cut the deficit to a point, 23-24, before UST committed an error that allowed the Lady Spikers to force a decider.
With UST leading 15-11 in the third salvo, La Salle unleashed a furious 14-5 burst, capped by a net error from the Tigresses to avert a sweep, 25-20
The Tigresses held a slight 21-19 edge in the second canto before igniting a four-point swing, topped by Laure’s crosscourt hit for a commanding 2-0 set lead.
Up 18-15 in the opening set, UST rode a 7-4 torrent, capped by a through-the-block kill from Laure to gain high ground early.
Laure scored a game-high 25 points, while team captain Sisi Rondina added 17 markers for the Tigresses. KC Galdones and Caitlyn Viray had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Jolina de la Cruz led La Salle with 12 points, while Aduke Ogunsanya and Desiree Cheng had 10 markers apiece.
The Tigresses will face the winner of the Far Eastern University-Ateneo de Manila University matchup in the finals on May 11, Saturday, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
