UAAP Volleyball: Lady Falcons stifle Lady Tams, force three-way tie

The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws sat comfortably in third place after routing the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons last week, but the wily Adamson University Lady Falcons cut their lofty status short.

 

Shiela Pineda scored 19 points on 19 attacks to power the Lady Falcons to a 3-1 victory over the Gyzelle Sy-led FEU Lady Tams, Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan, forcing a three-way tie among both teams and the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses in the 74th UAAP womens volleyball tournament.

 

Both teams went tooth-and-nail early in the first set, until a service error by Rose Marie Vargas gave Adamson the lead for good at 6-5. Pineda fueled Adamson’s offense early, scoring all four points in a 4-2 run, and finishing with eight in the entire set.

 

FEU meanwhile, had problems finding the right amount of power to attack the ball with, committing spiking errors which distanced them further from the Lady Falcons. The Lady Tams also had problems with coverage, as Pineda continuously directed her attacks towards the middle. A pair of spikes from Lady Falcon Pau Soriano ended the set at 25-18.

 

The same plot continued in the second set, as both teams found themselves in the midst of another 5-5 tie. Adamson though, would again swipe the lead after an attack by Pineda, 6-5.

 

Zapanta, who was non-existent in the first set, got into the mix of things, along with Soriano and team captain Angelica Quinlog, and the trio gave Adamson a variety of scorers.

 

FEU came as close as 15-14 after a quick swipe by Lady Tamaraw Marie Toni Basas, but once again errors proved to be their undoing, handing the set to Adamson at 25-18.

 

FEU turned their fortunes around in the third set, having picked up the pace and ruffling Adamson’s usually-potent defense. The Lady Tamaraws grabbed the lead at 4-3 after a spike by Vargas and continued protecting it, as Mayjorie Roxas emerged and played with considerable effort on both ends of the floor, scoring on spikes and blocks. A handful of clever plays from Sy also gave the Lady Tams more leverage, as they led by as much as six, after a back-row hit from Roxas.

 

Adamson refused to give up the fight, coming close at 24-21, but yet another back-row hit by Roxas ended the set at 25-21.

 

Only the fourth set saw more than two lead changes, after FEU led early at 6-4, a minuscule lead which Adamson watered down until it became a 9-9 tie. A net error by Dawson gave the lead to Adamson at 10-9, and the Lady Falcons re-established their defense just in time to prevent any scoring for FEU.

 

The San Marcelino quintet scored five straight points after an error by Lady Falcon Faye Guevara momentarily stopped the bleeding for FEU. Zapanta, who had performed sporadically up to that point, then found her groove in the fourth set, scoring seven points, including a block that closed the set at 25-19, handing the victory to Adamson.

 

The Lady Falcons received their seventh win in 12 outings, improving to 7-5, while the loss was FEU's fifth in as many games. Together with UST, which won earlier, all three find themselves knotted with the same record, meaning the last few playing dates will be hotly contested as they jockey for Final Four positioning.

 

SET SCORES:

25-18, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19

 

— AD/RSJ, GMA News