GAMES WEDNESDAY
(The Arena, San Juan)
11 a.m. – UP vs. NU
5 p.m. – UE vs. FEU
FORCED to work hard by a gritty University of Santo Tomas side, Far Eastern University essayed a 25-22, 26-24, 17-25, 26-24 victory yesterday in their second-round rematch in the 87th UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Opposite spiker Faida Bakanke shone with 22 points on 18 attacks, two service aces and a block while middle blocker Jaz Ellarina added 12 markers as the Lady Tamaraws completed an elims sweep of the Golden Tigresses and improved to 5-3, the same card of UST.
Outside spiker Gerzel Petallo, who sizzled in the last frame, delivered a double-double outing of 12 points and 15 excellent digs for FEU before a crowd of 8,211.
The triumph enabled FEU to bounce back from its defeat to De La Salle at the end of first-round play last
“Mataas ‘yung expectations ko kasi binibigyan ko na sila ng higher responsibility coming into this second round. And then iyong expectations din namin masyado na ring mataas. At stake iyong positioning ng teams,” said FEU coach Tina Salak.
“Hopefully, magandang start ito for the second round and looking forward for more, iyon lang ang goal namin ngayon. Isa-isa, kung problema namin ngayon UST, next game namin UE. Isa-isahin natin hangga’t sa makuha namin ‘yung panalo,” Salak added.
Trailing 11-17 in the fourth set, the Lady Tamaraws battled back and took a 20-19 lead on three straight points by Petallo.
Both squads battled hard to make it a 24-all count before Petallo gave FEU a 25-24 lead. Middle blocker Jean Asis sealed the victory by shutting down a Regina Jurado attack.
The Golden Tigresses absorbed their back-to-back losses since their five-setter upset win over defending champion National University.
