By Angel Joyce C. Basa

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws extended their victory run through a four-set win against the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons, 23-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-10, in their first round matchup in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women's volleyball tournament held today, March 8, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Lady Tamaraws took their fourth win of the season after sustaining a three-game campaign in a span of one week, retaining their third placement in the team rankings.

In the post-game conference, assistant coach Manolo Refugia recalled the loss against the University of the Philippines (UP) which motivated the team to come back stronger in their following games.

“Happy [kami] dun sa nakita na performance na ginawa ng players and nagbubunga na ‘yung from natalo kami, ‘yung sa ano, ‘yung heartbreaking na talo sa UP so ang baba talaga ng emotions, ganun. So paunti-unti, nakakabalik, so ayun, napakita na nila ‘yung FEU Lady Tamaraws talaga (We are happy with the performance that the players showed and the results are coming from the heartbreaking loss against UP so our emotions were really down. But slowly, we are getting stronger, the players are showing who the FEU Lady Tamaraws really are),” he said.

During the game, the Morayta-based volleybelles executed a strong comeback approach after losing the first set through a neck-and-neck matchup against the San Marcelino squad.

AdU took the first point of the set and FEU answered with another point which continued throughout the early leg of the frame until 18-17. At 20-20, the Lady Tamaraws were caught up by the Lady Falcons who eventually took the set, 23-25.

The rest of the game favored the green-and-gold team as they were able to set a big gap between the scores of the Lady Falcons. FEU led by 10 points on the second set, 12 points on the third, and 15 on the final set.

Three Lady Tams produced double digits with Gerzel Petallo leading out of 16 markers from 14 attacks and two blocks, while Player of the Game (POG) Jean Asis and opposite spiker Faida Bakanke followed with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

In the same conference, the POG highlighted the team's composure inside the court on how they overcame the challenges of playing three consecutive games in one week.

“Siyempre nakakapagod siya, pero, at the same time, iniisip namin–ng team–kung ano nga ba ‘yung goal namin this Season 87, ‘yun po talaga ‘yung nangunguna (Of course it gets tiring, but, at the same time, our team thinks of our goal this Season 87, that's what really comes first),” she stated.

Now with a 4-2 win-loss tally, the green-and-gold team looks to close the first round with another win against De La Salle University next Saturday, March 15, at the same venue.

(Photo courtesy of the UAAP Media Team)