Lady Archers show championship poise in win over Lady Tams

La Salle displayed end-game poise and championship experience to squeeze out a 25-22, 25-15, 23-25, 23-25, 15-11 triumph against a stubborn Far Eastern University (FEU) side to stay unscathed in the 74th UAAP women's volleyball tournament Saturday at The Arena in San Juan City. Front-liners Abigail Maraño, who posted a career-high 21 points with three blocks, and Michelle Gumabao, who contributed 18 points and four blocks, stood tall for the defending champion Lady Archers, who needed more than two hours to book their fourth straight win. "The girls are struggling because of their academics, its finals week, but they still showed they have the heart and the desire to win," said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus. "This match tested the heart and determination of the girls," added De Jesus, who lost prized rookie Camille Cruz–younger sister of Lady Archers skipper Cha Cruz– to injury in the third set. Maica Morada had 15 points and Rosemarie Vargas tallied 14 hits for the Lady Tamaraws, who dropped to 2-2 for fourth place. In the other women's match, Adamson University easily dispatched University of the East, 25-18, 25-14, 25-17, the Lady Falcons' third straight win after dropping their first match of the season. Reigning five-time champion University of Santo Tomas (UST), meanwhile, relied on Jay Depante and Mark Gil Alfafara's combined 30 hits in beating Ateneo, 25-14, 25-20, 25-18, to remain at third place with a 3-1 card. Sam Paquiz made 20 hits in University of the Philippines' 25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 28-26 win over UE for the Maroons' second win in four matches. Action resumes Sunday also at The Arena with NU facing FEU at 9 a.m. and La Salle battling Adamson at 10:30 a.m. in the men's division. UP takes on UST at 2 p.m. and Ateneo faces NU at 3:30 p.m. in the women's contest. — JVP, GMA News