MANILA, Philippines — The UST Golden Tigresses are back on the win column after a three-set drubbing of the UE Lady Warriors, 25-17, 25-16, 25-17, in the second round of the UAAP Season 85 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday.
UST, now at 6-3, pushed UE to the brink of elimination from playoff contention as the latter fell to 0-9.
The Golden Tigresses ended the match on a 10-1 run after UE took the 16-15 lead at the second technical timeout, after a misreceive on the UST's end.
But the Tigresses regained their bearings as sparked by bench player Renee Penafiel.
Penafiel provided the ace to clinch the match, 25-17. She finished with four points despite playing only in the third set.
As the race for the Final Four heats up, UST head coach Kung Fu Reyes was thankful for the bounce back victory.
"Malaking bagay para sa amin, syempre. Second round, first round, first loss, ngayon second round ganon din. Ang maganda naman, bumabalik kami agad after ng pagkatalo namin," said Reyes after the game.
"Marami pa kaming dapat ayusin, especially now na tumataas yung level ng labanan," he added.
Eya Laure paced the Tigresses with 17 points. Imee Hernandez and Regina Jurado provided the supporting role with eight and seven markers, respectively.
KC Cepada led three UE Lady Warriors in twin digit scoring in the loss with 12 markers.
UST faces a tough test next against league-leaders DLSU on Sunday, April 2, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. UE, meanwhile, seeks entry into the win column against the FEU Lady Tamaraws.