UST dusts off Ateneo, looks to maintain menacing form to end first round

They hope to bring the same killer mentality when they face their lowly opponents on Friday.

“Like I said, all teams are competitive,” UST coach Kungfu Reyes said after the Tigresses defeated the Blue Eagles, 25-19, 25-23, 25-14, in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament at Filoil EcoOil. Arena. “[There are teams that] just couldn’t close out the game with a win.”

UST’s fourth win in six games leaves the team with a chance to end the first round on a high note. But the Tigresses did not want to be caught guarding against the winless University of the East (UE).

“You can’t fool UE,” Reyes said.

The Lady Red Warriors showed why. They fought stubbornly and dragged Far Eastern University to the fifth set before finally yielding, 25-19, 18-25, 25-12, 22-25, 15-5, in another match.

UST should be clear as when Ateneo lost for the fourth time with a record of 1-5 (win-loss).

“We want to finish the first half on a high note. At least the morale of the team will be high at the start of the second half,” said Reyes, stating that he will continue to work on the lapses, especially those encountered in the middle.

Second straight win

Regina Jurado seized her moment in the spotlight by aggressively attacking the net, unleashing 12 attacks for a game-high 15 points and three aces, all in the final set in which the Tigresses torched the season 11-2.

“We were able to execute smoothly with our movements. We didn’t make any service errors and felt good,” Reyes said.

Eya Laure found relief with the heroics of Jurado and unloaded 10 points and 12 digs while newcomer Cassie Carballo had 16 excellent sets for the Tigresses, who registered their second straight victory.

“We always learn a thing or two every time we lose. We had the right mindset in this game and that led us to victory,” Laure said.

The Tigresses lost their season opener against La Salle but scored their season loss when they stopped defending champion National University. But instead of roaring, UST stumbled three sets against Adamson before starting its current run.

Vanessa Gandler led Ateneo with 13 points while Faith Nisperos and Lyann de Guzman added 11 points each as the Blue Eagles committed 25 errors to get off to their worst start in the Final Four era or since the same 1-4 record 13 years ago in the Season. 73.

Rising rookie

Laure was in attack mode at the start, multiple smashes punishing Ateneo’s back line defense. After UST went on to take the first two sets, Jurado took over in the third, jump-starting a fiery run for a 17-13 advantage before her twin aces created an eight-point cushion.

“With Reg (Jurado), we can only take care of the defense when he creates the attack,” Laure said after UST continued to draw big games from the new player opposite the spiker.

“There is learning on the road as the season progresses. I will do my best to meet those expectations,” Jurado said.

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