Lady Falcons swoop down on Lady Warriors to open second round

MANILA, Philippines -- The Adamson Lady Falcons had a strong start to their UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament second round after blasting the University of the East Lady Warriors in three sets, 25-20, 25-11, 25-21, Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Adamson thus snapped its four-game losing streak it sustained toward the end of the first round of the competition to rise to 3-5. On the other hand, UE dropped its eighth straight contest in the season.

Shai Nitura powered the Lady Falcons with 18 points on 17 attacks and a block. Mayang Nuique added 11 points on eight attacks, two service aces and a block, while Barbie Jamili had nine markers.

After winning the first two sets convincingly, Adamson saw itself trailing by three, 13-16, in the third set.

But Nuique, Jamili and Nitura teamed up to dig themselves out of the hole.

All of a sudden, the Lady Falcons took a four-point advantage, 23-19, after a Nitura attack.

Khy Cepeda halted the 10-3 run with a kill to cut the lead to three, 20-23, but Jamili scored on a block point to move Adamson to the match point, 24-20.

Cepeda tried to spark a late run for UE with a point, but Nitura’s earth-shattering kill ended things, 25-21.

Jen Villegas added eight points for Adamson while Fhei Sagaysay had 14 excellent sets to go with two points.

Cepada had 10 points for UE while Van Bangayan had nine. Riza Nogales chipped in eight points.

Adamson will try to strengthen its bid for the Final Four as it faces Ateneo next Saturday, while UE will try to tally its first win of the season against Far Eastern University on Wednesday.