UP halts four-game slide, survives Adamson in five sets

After four straight defeats in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, University of the Philippines finally cracked another win at the expense of Adamson University, Sunday, March 16, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The game, which lasted more than 2 hours and 13 minutes, saw the Fighting Maroons defeating the San Marcelino-based squad in five grueling sets, 25-15, 15-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-10.

With this, the Fighting Maroons finished the first round of eliminations at 5th place with a 3-4 win-loss record, ahead of the Lady Falcons at 6th place with a 2-5 record. The Ateneo Blue Eagles settled at 7th, while the still winless UE Lady Warriors are at 8th place. Last year’s final four, NU, UST, La Salle, and FEU remained as the top teams.

UP dominated the first set, capitalizing on Adamson’s 11 unforced errors, to go with their 10 attacks, 3 kill blocks, and a service ace.  Things turned around in the 2nd set, as UP struggled to keep up with Adamson’s block party, tying the match at 1-set apiece.

In the tight third set, Irah Jaboneta’s off-speed placement shot made UP reach set point at 24-23. However, Adamson scored 3 straight points, starting from a double contact violation from the Fighting Maroons, a service ace by Eloi Dote, and finally, a Shaina Nitura’s cross-court attack won the set for the Lady Falcons.

Trailing after the first technical timeout in the fourth set at 6-8, UP was able to overcome the deficit, and a series of attacks from Irah Jaboneta and Kianne Olango propelled the team closer to the set win, leading at 22-20. Crucial errors plagued Adamson towards the tail end of the set, and a kill from Niña Ytang delivered the winning point for UP, extending the match to a deciding fifth set.

In the fifth set, the Lady Falcons struck first but the Fighting Maroons got their bearings to have an early 8-5 advantage. They held their ground and denied Adamson’s attempts to come back. UP held a 3-point lead at 12-9, before an off-the-block hit by Nitura to cut the deficit to two, 12-10. UP then converted three consecutive points starting from a quick hit from Ytang. A crucial net touch from an Adamson player brought UP to match point, while Jaboneta ended a long rally and sealed the deal for UP, winning the match with an off-the-block hit.

Niña Ytang of the UP Fighting Maroons

Returning after missing two games due to abdominal strain, Ytang was named as the player of the game, exploding with 20 points from 15 spikes (with a 60% attack efficiency), three kill blocks, and two service aces.  Meanwhile, Jaboneta had a triple-double performance, tallying 19 attack points, 12 digs, and 11 excellent receptions at 44% efficiency.  Setter Julia De Leon dished out 16 excellent sets off the bench.

Shaina Nitura of the Adamson Lady Falcons. Photo from the UAAP Media

Rookie sensation Shaina Nitura set a new record in UAAP Women’s Volleyball after scoring 38 big points, breaking the 35-point records of Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez and UST’s Cherry Rondina.  Barbie Jamili contributed 18 points, from 16 attacks and 2 blocks.