For many UST volleyball fans, the UAAP Season 80 women’s tournament in 2018 was a campaign they would rather forget, and those memories have resurfaced this year in Season 88.
On Saturday, March 7, the Golden Tigresses dropped to a 2-3 record — their poorest start through five games since the dreaded Season 80 — after showing little resistance in a straight-set defeat to the Adamson Lady Falcons, 27-25, 25-22, 25-12.
Much like in Season 80, UST entered this year with high expectations behind stars Sisi Rondina and EJ Laure. Those hopes in 2018 were dashed when Laure was ruled out for the season with what was then described as a chronic “shoulder injury.”
With Laure unavailable, UST relied on Rondina alongside Shannen Palec, Dimdim Pacres, Carla Sandoval, Tin Francisco, Alyssa Teope, Alina Bicar, Cat Pollentes, Caitlyn Viray, and rookie Milena Alessandrini.
However, injuries continued to plague the Tigresses. Alessandrini missed two weeks with an inflamed right shoulder, while libero Rica Rivera suffered a lateral meniscal tear in her right knee that kept her out for a month.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Injuries bug Golden Tigresses’ campaign
“Injuries to key players at different points of the season were a big part of why the Golden Tigresses struggled in Season 80,” former “V” sports editor Randell Angelo Ritumalta, who covered the Tigresses that season, said.
“Nevertheless, seeing Sisi Rondina’s efforts to carry the team offensively was definitely one of the high points that season,” he added.
UST managed to secure only two wins in the opening round, sweeping the UE Lady Warriors and the Adamson Lady Falcons before losing the rest of their first-round assignments.
Under head coach Emilio “Kung Fu” Reyes Jr., the Tigresses finished the season with a 4-10 record, good for seventh place in the standings. They placed ahead only of the Lady Warriors, who ended the season with two victories.
That season also featured a five-game losing streak stretching from the end of the first round into the second, ultimately finishing second-to-last.
“Next woman up sila,” Ritumalta said about the Tigresses’ mentality that season. “We were hopeful they would do better if they would be healthier.”
Despite the struggles, Alessandrini emerged as a reliable scorer and captured Rookie of the Year honors, while Rondina claimed Best Scorer, foreshadowing her MVP award in Season 81. De La Salle University (DLSU) went on to win the championship, defeating FEU in the finals.
Even after the disappointing campaign, optimism surrounded UST, with its young roster seen as a group on the verge of a breakthrough.
That breakthrough nearly arrived the following year.
In Season 81, UST surged to second place in the elimination round with a 10-4 record, powered by the emergence of Eya Laure and Rondina’s MVP-level performance.
Although the Tigresses fell short in the finals against Ateneo, their rise from the previous season marked a remarkable turnaround.
Now in Season 88, UST hopes to avoid repeating Season 80 and instead emulate Season 81.
Following the loss to Adamson, the Tigresses immediately returned to training that same night in an effort to turn their campaign around.
UST will attempt to bounce back when it faces the UP Fighting Maroons on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
