THE UST Golden Spikers were haunted by errors during their debut in the V-League men’s collegiate challenge, kicking off their campaign with a four-set defeat to the FEU Tamaraws, 30-32, 29-27, 17-25, 20-25, on Wednesday, July 31.
The España squad’s whopping 42 errors overshadowed its 41 attack points against the Morayta squad at the Paco Arena.
Both teams struggled with errors in the tight opener. Tamaraw open spiker Mikko Espartero sealed the extended first set with a block and a crosscourt kill, 32-30.
It was a similar story in the second frame as UST spiker Gboy de Vega’s off-the-block hit tied the set at 24-all. FEU tried to catch up, but the tandem of de Vega and Eman Dedoroy took matters into their own hands, leveling the match to one set apiece, 29-27.
Opposite spiker Jayrack de la Noche led the Golden Spikers to a 4-0 edge during the start of the third set. The Tamaraws responded with seven straight points led by two service aces from setter Benny Martinez to shift the momentum back to his team, 16-11. The Golden Spikers regrouped briefly, but their continuous errors allowed the Tamaraws to claim a 2-1 set lead, 25-17.
UST started strong in the fourth set with a 9-5 advantage, but FEU quickly caught up. Despite committing 11 errors, FEU’s triumvirate hitters, Amet Bituin, Zhydryx Saavedra, and Espartero, led their team to a 25-20 victory.
With the absence of UAAP Season 86 MVP Josh Ybañez due to national team commitments, de Vega powered UST with 16 points, including 14 attacks. De la Noche and Popoy Colinares contributed 13 and 12 markers, respectively.
Espartero steered FEU’s offense with 16 points on 14 attacks, while Saavedra added 14 points on 13 kills.
The UAAP Season 86 silver medalists aim to bounce back as they face the DLSU Green Spikers on August 7 at the same venue. F
