MANILA, Philippines - University of Santo Tomas overcame a poor start to defeat La Salle, 21-15, 21-11, and annex its third women’s crown in the UAAP Season 77 beach volleyball tournament at the UE Caloocan sand court yesteday.
The Tigresses fought back from a 0-4 deficit in the opening set with Cherry Rondina and Rica Rivera finding their rhythm late and imposing their power at the net to grab the upperhand.
Ara Galang replaced Cyd Demecillo in the second set to be paired with Kim Fajardo, but the change did not help the Lady Spikers any.
With Rondina scoring a service ace, UST put the game beyond recall at 16-6 in the second set en route to wrapping up the series.
“We were a bit pressured in the early going, but were able to settle down in time,” said Rondina.
The Tigresses won all but one of their 10 matches this season, including a seven-game sweep of the elims, to regain the crown they lost last year. UST tied Adamson University as the league’s winningest women’s beach volleyball program with three titles.
Rondina, a product of Compostela National High School, also went on to bag the MVP honors.
Rivera, who also teamed up with Rondina in the Tigresses’ silver medal finish in last summer’s Philippine National Games, took home the Rookie of the Year honors.
National University spoiled University of Santo Tomas’ bid for a double, as the Bulldogs completed a three-peat in the men’s division with a 19-21, 21-18, 17-15 win in the decider.
Josephenry Tipay rammed in the match- clinching kill, giving NU a hard-earned 2-1 best-of-three series win to tie Far Eastern University for the most number of men’s beach volleyball titles with three.