Lady Falcons, Lady Bulldogs tie for 2nd
MANILA, Philippines – Adamson University and National University (NU) walloped separate opponents Wednesday to move for joint second place in the 73rd UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the San Juan Arena.
The Lady Falcons pulled off a challenging 25-23, 26-24, 25-21 win over Ateneo de Manila University while the Lady Bulldogs thumped University of the East (UE), 25-18, 25-17, 20-25, 25-11 to share identical 3-2 records with still two more games left in the first round.
Angela Benting and Pau Soriano each scored 16 points to lead the Lady Falcons who disposed the Lady Eagles in just one hour and 8 minutes of play.
Benting and Soriano combined for 28 of Adamson’s 48 attacks while getting able backing from rookie Sheila Marie Pineda and Luisa Mae Zapanta, who added 9 and 8 points, respectively.
Dzi Gervacio paced the Lady Eagles with 14 points, including 13 hits as the rest of her teammates struggled to churn out double-digit outputs for Ateneo, which plunged deeper into the cellar at 1-4.
Bea Pascual tallied only 8 markers while Gretchen Ho and Cara Acevedo had 6 points each. Ateneo’s other scoring threat Fille Cainglet wound up with just 3 points.
Maricar Nepomuceno registered her second 20-plus outing for the Lady Bulldogs, finishing with a career-high 27 points build around 25 kills while skipper Mervic Mangui added 13 to spearhead NU’s one-hour, 30-minute romp.
Newcomer Railen Sante also made her presence felt, racking up 12 points.
Mary Cristel Rosale led UE with 12 markers while Jimberly Dizon and Maria Teresa Caballero contributed 9 apiece.
In men’s play, Adamson and University of the Philippines boosted their stock with key victories for a tie at third place.
The Falcons clawed NU (25-12, 25-23, 27-25) while the Maroons repulsed Ateneo (25-9, 25-23, 25-21) to improve with similar 2-3 cards.Anthony Divinagracia
