Lady Tams shock Lady Eagles in UAAP volleyball

MANILA, Philippines – Streaking Far Eastern University caught a big fish after upsetting a hapless Ateneo side in straight sets, 25-20, 25-17, 25-16, in the 75th season of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan on Wednesday.

The Lady Tamaraws stretched their winning streak to four games, boosting their Final Four hopes and keeping the race to the next round tighter.

“Alam namin na kaya namin sila kasi pinaghandaan talaga namin (We know that we can beat them because we prepared hard for it),” said BSBA Major in Internal Auditing Mayjorie Roxas, who finished 11 points, seven came off attacks, with couple of blocks and service aces each.

“Sobrang importante ‘to, kailangan namin makarami ng panalo kasi gusto namin makapasok sa Final Four (This game is really important for us because we need to win lots of games to make it to the Final Four),” the 19-year-old Laguna native added.

Power hitter Rosemarie Vargas, Wenneth Eulalio and Marie Toni Basas provided a solid backup adding 11, 10, and 10, markers, respectively, to help FEU tie with host National University, who earlier drubbed the hapless University of the Philippines, 25-19, 25-18, 25-18.

Despite the third consecutive loss, the Lady Eagles are still sitting at the second spot with a 6-3 card. But they are only half a game ahead over UST Tigresses and Adamson Lady Falcons, who are knotted at the third and fourth spot with 5-3 record.

The last time that the Morayta-based squad won four straight games was during the Season 71 where they’ve won 12 straight games in the eliminations.

The Lady Eagles, meanwhile, dropped three consecutive matches for the first time since Season 73.

“They enjoyed playing,” said FEU mentor Kid Santos, who holds a 4-1 record since taking over the spot from Nes Pamilar. “They now believe in themselves.”

Skipper Dindin Santiago led the Lady Bulldogs with 16 markers, while sophomore Myla Pabla chipped in with 12 points to hand the Lady Maroons their eight-straight loss (1-8).

“We told our coach that we won’t relax and underestimate our opponents,” said Santiago, who helped her squad bounce back from a loss against defending champion De La Salle University.

League leader in points Alyssa Valdez scattered only 15 points, the lone player from Ateneo to finish in double digits, following a 35-point explosion she had in their loss against Adamson.