By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws took another step toward their Final Four goal as they snuffed out the Ateneo de Manila (AdMU) Blue Eagles, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-13, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women’s volleyball tourney earlier today, April 9, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The Lady Tamaraws led the Blue Eagles in attacks, blocks, and aces early, enough for a commanding 11-5 start in the first set. 

With FEU’s shared attacking going toe-to-toe with Ateneo’s AC Miner-led offense, both squads found themselves at a late standstill, 19-19.

Fortunately, the green-and-gold volleybelles edged out the blue-and-white squad, just enough to take the 25-23 set.

An error-prone 7-11 start plagued the Morayta squad in the second frame. Responding with a timeout, they sparked a 7-2 run to close the gap.

However, the Lady Tamaraws’ defensive lapses continued to be exposed by Ateneo’s attacking, inflating the deficit yet again, 22-25.

In the fourth set, FEU head coach Tina Salak decided to start setter Karyll Miranda and middle blocker Clarisse Loresco in place of Tin Ubaldo and Jaz Ellarina. Loresco’s impact was immediately felt as they tallied four blocks to begin, 6-2. 

Said block advantage was later on negated by their errors, but the Morayta-based squad’s cleaner play in the latter part of the frame handed them the lead back, 25-22.

With momentum on their side, the Lady Tamaraws took command of the fourth set and did not look back, never letting go of the lead and producing a match-high advantage to secure the victory, 25-13.

The Salak-led squad improved to an 8-4 win-loss record with a better hold of the three-seed and are now a win away from nine—the threshold they currently need to clinch a semifinal appearance.

In the post-game conference, outside hitter Chenie Tagaod expressed their need to be consistent as they inch closer to the Final Four.

“Sa’kin, i-maintain talaga ‘yung [consistency]. Sobrang hirap niya gawin pero ngayon, nakukuha namin siya. Alam namin na kulang pa pero nandun na kami so trabaho ulit para makuha namin kung anong gusto namin (For me, we need to really maintain consistency. It’s very hard to do but now, we’re getting it. We know that it’s still not enough but we’re almost there so we just work to get what we want),” she said.

Meanwhile, Loresco mentioned their coaches’ advice to always maintain their will to win and play.

“Ang lagi lang po kasing sinasabi sa’min nina Coach is dapat andun lagi ‘yung desire namin manalo and ‘yung eagerness talaga namin maglaro pa (The coaches always tell us that our desire to win and eagerness to play should always be there),” the rookie shared.

Opposite hitter Faida Bakanke led the scoring with 19 points on 15 attacks and four blocks, while Gerzel Petallo and Tagaod followed her with 13 and 12, respectively. Loresco was next in line with four attacks added to her three blocks.

FEU will next face Adamson University on Saturday, April 12, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

(Photo by Zedrich Xylak Madrid/FEU Advocate)