UST Tigresses’ Ange Poyos during a UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament game. PHOTO: UAAP
With University of Santo Tomas not having two cogs that helped in a silver medal finish last season, the Tigresses are going to ride a new 1-2 punch—and would need several others to step up—for the rest of Season 87 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.
That wasn’t more evident on Saturday when Reg Jurado and Angge Poyos combined for 43 points in a 26-28, 25-22, 25-23, 25-15 nipping of University of the East that had the Tigresses growling loudly once again at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
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The victory allowed the Tigresses to rebound from their season-debut loss, a four-setter to Far Eastern last week, with Jurado the offensive spearhead against the Lady Warriors.
“We really worked hard for this win, to not come up with the lapses we had [in our first game],” the lefty Jurado said in Filipino. “We need to play well individually in order to plug the holes we have.”
Confidence booster
Jonna Perdido and Xyza Gula, who had several defining moments last season, are out because of knee injuries, and the Tigresses lost another player, Kyla Cordora, to an ankle sprain in the second set.
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“They have such big roles on our team,” Poyos, last year’s top rookie, said in Filipino, referring to Perdido and Gula. “That means we all need to step up and it will be all of us—the rookies and veterans alike—who would need to do that.”
It was a win the Tigresses desperately needed since they will be clashing with archrival La Salle on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena, and an effort that is short than what they came up with against the Lady Warriors will not do the job opposite the Lady Spikers.
Jurado’s output was built around 18 kills and she and Poyos got the support they needed from towering rookie Marga Altea, who contributed 10 points.
“We know that La Salle will be preparing hard for us,” Poyos, whose brightest moments came last year when the Tigresses conquered the Lady Spikers in a gripping semifinal series, added. “But we will also prepare hard for them.”
“We have two days to do that and we will give it our all.”
Cassie Carballo had 19 excellent sets, while captain Detdet Pepito protected the floor with 16 digs and 14 excellent receptions for the Tigresses.
“We saw all our lapses in the [Far Eastern game] and worked hard to address those,” deputy coach Yuri Fernandez said, also in Filipino. “We have to improve on our communication and connect [with each other]immediately. That was our biggest problem against FEU.”
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The Tigresses were dragged into a tight first three sets but left no doubt in the fourth when they opened up with a 10-3 lead.