UAAP volleyball week 5: FEU heats up; La Salle ties Ateneo on top

MANILA, Philippines – At the end of the 5th week of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament, Rappler gives you a round up of the games.

The DLSU Lady Spikers and the ADMU Lady Eagles faced off in what was a close and exciting match, which ultimately saw La Salle defeat their relentless opponent. The FEU Lady Tamaraws also proved impressive this week, with two straight wins over UE and UST respectively.

Here’s a full wrap below:

FEU Lady Tamaraws vs UE Lady Warriors (January 9)

The Lady Tamaraws broke a two-game spell with a resounding win over the Lady Warriors, giving Coach Kid Santos his first win since returning to the team.

Wenneth Eulalio finally dished out a solid game after struggling in her last few outings, putting up 15 points off 11 hits and 3 aces as FEU won, 25-19, 25-18, 25-15.

UE, which lost its 6th straight match, could only get 8 points from team captain Leuseht Dawis.

UST Golden Tigresses vs ADU Lady Falcons (January 9)

Carmela Tunay rose as “The Closer” in this match, as the Tigress scored the last 3 points of the match to secure the hard-earned 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-13 triumph.

The win allowed UST to inch closer to the top two teams with a 4-2 record, as they got 15 points apiece from Maika Ortiz, Pam Lastimosa and skipper Judy Caballejo. Tunay wounded up with 11 markers.

Setter Loren Lantin also had 9 points off 5 blocks to help the Espana-based crew send Adamson to their third loss. The Lady Falcons were led by Pau Soriano’s 25 points.

NU Lady Bulldogs vs UP Lady Maroons (January 12)

The Lady Bulldogs sensed blood early and simply toyed with the Lady Maroons in cruising to the 25-16, 25-14, 25-18 victory and ending their first round campaign tied for 3rd to 4th with a 4-3 card.

NU peppered UP’s defense with 44 attacks (on a whopping 37.4% accuracy) in just 3 sets, with Dindin Santiago showering the Diliman-based squad with 17 kills and Myla Pablo adding 10 hits.

On the other hand, the Lady Maroons could only make 16.2% of their attacks to fall to their 6th straight loss and close the first round with a 1-6 record.

DLSU Lady Spikers vs ADMU Lady Eagles (January 12)

The much-awaited match of the season did not disappoint, as both the Lady Spikers and the Lady Eagles dished out the fireworks and gave the almost 8,000 fans who trooped to the FilOil Flying V Arena a show for the ages.

La Salle, the two-time defending champions, came out on top after coming back from two sets down. 26-28, 21-25, 25-13, 25-21, 15-13, to tally their 6th consecutive triumph and tie their victims at 6-1.

Pounded by Ateneo’s relentless attack, the Lady Spikers lost the first two sets, but found their second wind and took advantage of the loss of Fille Cainglet to upend the Lady Eagles.

ADU Lady Falcons vs UE Lady Warriors (January 13)

Now upset from back-to-back 5-set losses, the Lady Falcons entered their game against the Lady Warriors with anticipation and came away victorious.

Unfortunately for UE, they were on the wrong end of a beating, suffering their 7th loss in as many games with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-10 thumping.

Pau Soriano and Mayette Zapanta shone for Adamson with 15 and 11 points, respectively, while Leuseht Dawis and Christine Miralles each scored 7 markers for the Lady Warriors.

FEU Lady Tamaraws vs UST Golden Tigresses (January 13)

The UAAP’s most storied volleyball rivalry took center stage in the last day of the first round, with the Lady Tamaraws booking a surprising triumph.

FEU rewarded Coach Kid Santos with a second straight triumph, and an upset at that, stunning the favored Tigresses, 22-25, 29-27, 25-18, 25-23.

Rose Vargas and Wenneth Eulalio posted 17 points each and the rest of the Lady Tamaraws group contributed while UST fell to 4-3.

Player of the Week: Wenneth Eulalio (16 points, 12 hits, 1.5 aces, 2.5 blocks)

With coach Nes Pamilar out, Eulalio sprang back to life, leading FEU to back-to-back wins to get them back in the thick of things. Eulalio helped Rose Vargas on the attack while continuing to do a solid job at the net.

Team of the Week: FEU Lady Tamaraws (won over UE, 25-19, 25-18, 25-15; won over UST, 22-25, 29-27, 25-18, 25-23)

The Lady Tams are in a groove and the rest of the UAAP should watch out. After all, FEU still possesses Season 74 Best Scorer (Rose Vargas), Best Setter (Gyzel Sy) and Best Digger (Christine Agno) to go with their rapidly-improving core. And this week was a testament to that.

Game of the Week: DLSU Lady Spikers vs ADMU Lady Eagles (January 12)

Almost 8, 000 fans braved long lines and rains just to witness what turned out as another classic between this budding rivalry. The Lady Eagles were impressive early, but the Lady Spikers channeled their championship heart and resolve when it mattered most to pull off the win. – Rappler.com