The UST Junior Golden Tigresses yielded to the Adamson Junior Lady Falcons in five sets, 25-16, 16-25, 25-12, 21-25, 15-10, losing their hold of solo second in the UAAP Season 87 girls’ high school volleyball tournament at the Paco Arena, on Saturday, Nov. 23.
With the result, UST, Adamson, and the FEU Baby Tamaraws are now tied at 8-3, sharing the second spot in the standings with one game left in their schedules.
Securing the second seed grants a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four against the third-seeded team.
Tied at 8-all, Adamson zoomed to a 12-4 run to pull away in the first set, 20-12, before Ellaine Gonzalvo nailed an attack to end the period, 25-16.
Leading by just two, 16-14, in the second set, the Junior Tigresses finished the period on a 9-2 run, built on seven straight points to even up the set score, 25-16.
UST then fielded most of their second-stringers in the third set, allowing Adamson to dominate the frame throughout, 25-12.
A tight fourth set saw UST edge out late, with Jai Adrao delivering a quick attack to force a decider, 25-21
Deadlocked again at 8-all in the fifth set, UST’s four-touch violation gave Adamson momentum. Gonzalvo followed with an attack to fuel a rally, pushing the Baby Falcons ahead, 10-8.
Despite Adrao’s late push, the Baby Falcons scored three straight points, before Abby Segui sealed the victory with two aces, 15-10.
Adrao put up 11 points for UST, while Avril Bron and Lianne Penuliar added 10 and nine points, respectively.
Cantada led Adamson with 21 points from 18 attacks, while Segui and Gonzalvo contributed 17 points each.
In the boys’ division, the Junior Golden Spikers swept Adamson University to end the eliminations on top with a 13-1 record and secure the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four, along side NUNS.
UST will next face the NU Lady Bullpups on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at the FilOIl EcoOil Centre.