THE UST Junior Golden Spikers refused to exit the UAAP Season 88 boys’ volleyball Final Four as they dismantled the twice-to-beat NUNS Bullpups with a 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 sweep on Saturday, December 6, at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym.
Fueled by setter Chester Esteban’s 26 excellent sets and team captain Rainer Lorayes’ 15 points, UST handed NUNS its second loss of the season and forced a knockout match.
The España-based squad overcame NUNS’ early lead, building a seven-point cushion, 21-14, behind joint efforts from Lorayes, Zach Maude and Markus Julian.
Despite attempts to respond through Ronnie Millan’s hit and Jerowe Biscocho’s service ace, the Bullpups failed to narrow the gap as Lorayes delivered the final point to seal the set for UST, 25-18.
While both teams committed eight errors each in the starting set, NUNS’ attack deficit stood out, producing only six successful hits compared to UST’s 15.
Tied at 5-all early in the second set, the Golden Spikers reclaimed the lead through a 10-5 run.
This UST lead hit a wall mid-set, committing three successive attack errors. NUNS, paced by Biscocho and Jan Olarde, capitalized on this window to force a 21-all deadlock.
Lorayes broke the tie, which paved the way for the Golden Spikers’ 4-0 run, capped by the last two points from Escobal.
With two sets already secured, the Golden Spikers never looked back in the third set, shrugging off NUNS’ efforts to catch up and cruising to the team’s dominant win.
At the forefront of the Bullpups, Xandrex Ragusta had 10 points, followed by Biscocho’s six. F – Jean Chloe Apilat
