V-League: Adamson bags third place finish after three-set win over UST

The Adamson Lady Falcons bagged a third place finish in the Shakey’s V-League 11th Season - 1st Conference after defeating the UST Golden Tigresses in three sets, 25-15 25-17 25-22, Sunday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan, for a sweep of the best-of-three series.

The Lady Falcons grabbed control of the momentum early in the first set with back-to-back service aces by Amanda Villanueva, good for a  9-5 Adamson lead, as UST was unable to get through the defensive presence of Mylene Paat from the front-row.

As May Macatuno’s deceptive second-ball tips sparked Adamson’s offense, coupled with a series of unforced errors by the Tigresses, the Lady Falcons entered the technical timeout with a 16-7 advantage.

Adamson was able to increase their lead to as much as 11 at 18-7 with a Shiela Pineda service ace, as they never took their foot off the gas pedal. Villanueva’s aggressiveness in her attacks, along with well-timed blocks, sealed the opening set for the Lady Falcons with a double-digit, 25-15 win.

The Lady Falcons carried on their momentum i to the second set with an 8-4 start by the first technical timeout. UST inched closer at 12-9, but they were unable to get through the well-balanced offensive load of Adamson. With Pineda’s efficiency from the service zone, Adamson piled up a 6-0 scoring run that positioned the Lady Falcons at 18-9. When Pau Soriano and Pacharee Sangmuang donned the front-row duties, the Tigresses simply couldn't dig out of the deficit. A service error by UST gave Adamson the second set with a score of 25-17.

The third set featured the Tigresses bounce back thanks to some adjustments. A Choldia Cortez finish followed by a Loren Lantin service ace gave UST their first lead of the set at 12-10. Pamela Lastimosa added to the run of the Tigresses with her usual cross-court winners as the girls in gold and black were able to grab the 16-12 lead by the technical timeout.

Adamson retaliated with a 5-1 scoring run sparked by Soriano, to tie the set at 17-all. The Tigresses however relied on EJ Laure’s relentless attacks and the Lady Falcon’s miscues as the Espana-based squad was able to cushion a 22-20 buffer. But the duo of Paat and Sangmuang exploded with a 5-0 scoring run as each Sangmuang kill was followed by a well-timed Paat block. The Lady Falcons bagged the match and the third place slot with a huge denial by Paat on Marivic Menseses’ attack, 25-22.

The Tigresses struggled throughout the match in their receptions as evident in Adamson’s 10 service points. Cortez gained the team-high of 13 points and was the lone double-figure UST scorer.

Adamson dominated with a 44-27 attack point differential against the Tigresses as Pacharee Sangmuang led with a game-high of 14 points. Pineda, Soriano and Villanueva all tallied 11 points each, while Paat’s game-high four block points was comprised half of her eight markers. - AMD, GMA News

P-2 for Match 46_ ADU-UST