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 brand new 1-2 punch—and would want several others to step up—for the remainder 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 more 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 actually worked hard for this win, to not give you the lapses we had [in our first game],” the lefty Jurado said in Filipino. “We want to play well individually so as to plug the holes we now have.”
Confidence booster
Jonna Perdido and Xyza Gula, who had several defining moments last season, are out due to knee injuries, and the Tigresses lost one other player, Kyla Cordora, to an ankle sprain within the second set.
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“They’ve such big roles on our team,” Poyos, last 12 months’s top rookie, said in Filipino, referring to Perdido and Gula. “Which means all of us must step up and it is going to be all of us—the rookies and veterans alike—who would want to try this.”
It was a win the Tigresses desperately needed since they might be clashing with archrival La Salle on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena, and an effort that is brief than what they got here up with against the Lady Warriors is not going to do the job opposite the Lady Spikers.
Jurado’s output was built around 18 kills and she or he and Poyos got the support they needed from towering rookie Marga Altea, who contributed 10 points.
“We all know that La Salle might be preparing hard for us,” Poyos, whose brightest moments got here last 12 months when the Tigresses conquered the Lady Spikers in a gripping semifinal series, added. “But we may also prepare hard for them.”
“We now have two days to try this and we are going to give it our all.”
Cassie Carballo had 19 excellent sets, while captain Detdet Pepito protected the ground with 16 digs and 14 excellent receptions for the Tigresses.
“We saw all our lapses within the [Far Eastern game] and worked hard to handle those,” deputy coach Yuri Fernandez said, also in Filipino. “We now have to enhance on our communication and connect [with each other]immediately. That was our biggest problem against FEU.”
The Tigresses were dragged into a decent first three sets but left little doubt within the fourth after they opened up with a 10-3 lead.
