FINALS ASPIRATIONS slipped through the fingers of the UST Golden Tigresses after bowing to the DLSU Lady Spikers in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball semifinals at the SMART Araneta Coliseum on May 3, Saturday.
Now equipped with a twice-to-beat perk, DLSU booted out UST in four sets, 25-22, 11-25, 25-21, 25-21, to avenge last season’s Final Four exit.
The Tigresses struck a bronze finish after the NU Lady Bulldogs survived the five-set scare of the FEU Lady Tamaraws in the previous semifinal clash.
“Of course, UST isn’t an easy opponent because they’re really known for their solid defense… They also don’t just give up no matter how many points the other team scores, so we really had to put our hearts into it,” Lady Spiker star Angel Canino said postgame.
“They [UST] really wanted to make it back to the finals. But of course, we wanted it more because we have a goal for our team, and we’re still working to reach that goal,” she added.
The two teams came out firing to begin the virtual best-of-three series before DLSU took a 17-13 lead courtesy of a kill from Canino.
Despite the Tigresses keeping it within reach, the Lady Spikers stayed in front to end the first frame, 25-22.
UST jumped to a 21-10 cushion in the second set after DLSU had problems keeping the ball in play.
After shifting all the momentum to their side, the Tigresses tied the game up with a dominant 25-11 set win.
Midway through the third set, Tigress co-captain Reg Jurado punched an off-the-block kill to break a 15-all deadlock.
Found in another tie late in the set, the Lady Spikers fueled a 5-1 run capped by an empathetic off-the-block kil from Canino for 2-1 set advantage.
After UST kicked off the fourth frame with four straight points, DLSU countered with a 5-0 burst for a slight 5-4 edge.
Both squads battled tightly in the latter moments until the Lady Spikers emptied their clip to clinch the last finals berth.
Canino steered the Taft squad to victory with 19 points. Amie Provido and Shevana Laput contributed 15 and 14 markers, respectively.
For the España side, Poyos and Jurado combined for 43 points with 40 coming from attacks.
Meanwhile, UST co-captain and libero Detdet Pepito capped off her collegiate career with 25 excellent digs and 14 excellent receptions.
Pepito and middle blocker Pia Abbu are set to graduate this year. F
