University of Santo Tomas held off the gritty University of the Philippines, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24, 25-23, in the UAAP Season 84 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Saturday night, May 28.
Eya Laure provided the spark anew for the Golden Tigresses and dropped 25 points off 24 spikes as the Espana-based squad got a firm grip of its solo second spot in the standings with a 7-2 record.
"Parang five sets din e, inabot na kami ng ilang oras," said UST head coach Kungfu Reyes as the match lasted two hours and 12 minutes.
"Pero 'yon nga, ang dami naming loophole especially nung second set. 'Yong mga unforced error andon ulit, 'yong pinakamadaling bola doon kami mostly namamatayan 'yong depensa. Ang isang reason lang is tumitigil kami sa sistema ng depensa."
After a 1-1 equalizer, UST averted a third frame meltdown and clawed its way back from a 21-24 deficit with six straight points to secure the set.
The fourth canto also saw a nip-and-tuck affair despite the Tigresses reaching match points first at 24-19 off a Jewel Encarnacion attack error.
Encarnacion cleaned up her mess and soared for an off-the-block hit before three straight attack errors from Laure -- all from the same spot at the left frontcourt -- gave a glimmer of hope for the Lady Maroons, 24-23.
With a good set from Mafe Galanza, Laure finally found her groove and fired the finishing blow with a solid kill.
Ysa Jimenez also added 10 points for UST while Camille Victoria and Ypril Tapia scored nine and eight points each.
Encarnacion led UP with 16 attacks, one block, and one service ace for 18 points, Aly Bertolano chalked up 14 kills for 15 markers, and Irah Jaboneta had 13 points.
The Lady Maroons slipped to a 4-5 slate.