UAAP Volleyball: Lady Tams oust Lady Falcons, enter playoffs

It was another blue and green face-off Monday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. And once again, the green faction dropped their blue counterparts. Rosemarie Vargas notched 19 points on 16 attacks as the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws eliminated the Adamson University Lady Falcons from the Final Four mix in three straight sets, capturing the number four seed and advancing to the stepladder round of the 74th UAAP women’s volleyball tournament. Adamson coach Minerva “Mommy” Dulce Pante had to wrestle with injury problems priot to the game, opting to field Shiela Pineda, despite her coming off a right ankle injury, while Matet Piza started in the place of setter Jennifer Macatuno, who missed the game because of an injured right hand. But when the game started, it was Lady Tam Vargas who carried the offensive load for the robust green and gold squad, who, despite playing without blocker Mayjorie Roxas (MCL), managed to match up against Adamson’s proven defense. Adamson went through stretches early in the sets where they would grab the lead for about a point or two, but the Lady Falcons clearly missed Macatuno, as the San Marcelino squad failed to make key receptions which would have swung the game their way. The Lady Falcons had a chance to keep their season alive towards the end of the third set, but Coach Minerva Pante’s gamble to play the veteran Pineda backfired, as Pineda botched a service. The subsequent possession also wound up in an error for Adamson, which gave FEU coach Nes Pamilar and his troops the much-needed win. The Lady Tams are now set to go against the UST Tigresses in the stepladder format, after the De La Salle Lady Spikers pummeled the Ateneo Lady Eagles in a five-set thriller yesterday. The winner between the FEU-UST match-up will then face Ateneo, which holds a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals. The winner will ultimately face the defending champions DLSU, who hold a thrice-to-beat advantage. - AMD, GMA News SET SCORES: 25-19, 25-17, 26-24