MANILA – University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses let University of the Philippines Lady Maroons taste its first defeat in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball with a 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20 beat down on Sunday at San Juan Arena.
Milena Alessandrini led the way with 22 points, on 19 attacks and three blocks, for the Golden Tigresses, which moved up to second place in the standings with Lady Maroons with 2-1 win-loss slate.
Rookie Ejiya Laure added 18 markers, while Cherry Rondina contributed 17 points for the Golden Tigresses. Rookies Maria Fe Galanza had 20 excellent sets on top of three service aces, while Jenel Delerio had 24 excellent digs.
After losing the first set, the Golden Tigresses struggled early in the second frame before getting a slight edge on crosscourt hits by Alessandrini. Errors from the Lady Maroons late in the set have helped the UST to even up the set score at 1-1.
The Golden Tigresses started strong in the third set and went up 20-8 on conversions from Rondina, Laure and Alessandrini. The Lady Maroons mounted a run to come to as close as 15-22 but consecutive points from Laure closed the set for UST.
The Lady Maroons went ahead early in the fourth set but the Golden Tigresses quickly erased it and surged ahead 16-10 on shots from Laure and Rondina. UP came to within 15-18 but hits from Alessandrini and Lady Maroons errors capped the win for UST.
Diana Carlos tallied 20 points, while Maria Lina Molde chipped in 13 markers for the Lady Maroons. Ilongga rookie Marianne Sotomil made a good account of herself in spot start for food poisoned Ma. Arielle Estranero as she delivered 32 excellent sets./PN
