Adamson escaped a gutsy University of the East, 25-19, 25-19, 26-28, 29-27, in the first round of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday, March 3, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. 

In the wake of an issue involving their squad, the Lady Falcons shrugged off the matter against their former head coach Jerry Yee to improve with an even record of 2-2 in the standings. 

Yee, who previously called the shots for Adamson last season, was handed a season-long suspension by the league as it was heavily implied that his team was behind the complaint that led to it. 

The Lady Falcons were coming off a nasty three-set defeat against Final Four rival National University Lady Bulldogs and were seeking to vent their ire to whoever was standing in their way. 

Outside hitter Barbie Jamili carried the fight for the Lady Falcons with a team-high 20 points highlighted by 18 attacks, while AA Adolfo and Red Bascon had 16 and 13 markers, respectively. 

Adamson seized a two-set lead, but encountered a feisty UE side in the third set which led to the extended affair. 

In the fourth set, however, the Lady Falcons showed no letup despite being down 27-26 late in the game thanks to an attack error by Kaycee Balingit that locked the game anew at 27-all. 

Mayang Nuique showed steely nerves and swiped her running attack at the hands of her blocker before Jen Villegas iced the game in the service area as they completed a determined 3-0 finishing kick. 

Rookie Casiey Dongallo had another brilliant effort after leading all scorers with 26 points in the losing cause, while Balingit had 12 markers of her own. 

UE, evidently rattled without the presence of its mentor, couldn’t capitalize on its third-set fightback to carry them all the way through. 

The Lady Warriors haven’t tasted victory in three games following their shock win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the opening day for a 1-3 slate in the table.