Golden Tigresses near first-round sweep

MANILA, Philippines —  Undefeated Santo Tomas carved out a pesky 25-22, 25-20, 26-24 win over University of the Philippines to zero in on a first-round sweep and match its best start in 13 years in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Dazzling rookie Angeline Poyos continued her stellar act with 22 points as the Golden Tigresses zoomed to a 6-0 slate, equaling the feat of the Season 73 batch led by icons Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Rhea Dimaculangan.

Poyos, coming off a career-best 26-point outing against Ateneo, hammered 18 hits and four aces to spearhead Santo Tomas’ march to yet another win with a pretty chance to complete a first-round wipeout against Adamson this Saturday.

Xyza Gula had 14 points, 10 digs and 12 receptions, Regina Jurado added 12 points to back Poyos in scoring while playmaker Cassie Carballo set the stage for her efficient spikers with 16 sets.

Season 85 Best Libero Bernadett Pepito provided 15 digs for the wards of coach Kungfu Reyes, who’s delighted to finally see the Golden Tigresses blossom into fine form since his arrival in 2015.

In the second game, Ateneo got back on track with a 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23 stunner over Adamson to gain a share of  fifth spot with the latter at 2-4.

Lyann de Guzman and Sophia Buena fired 22 points each to spearhead the Blue Eagles, who shrugged off a massive meltdown in the third set with a wasted 20-12 lead for the win in four sets that kept them in the Final Four race.