‘Good thing the girls followed our instructions’

Adamson University believes its perfect execution of its game plan and tough mindset became its “it” factor in demolishing Bacolod Tay Tung High School in straight sets to clinch the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) title. 

“Good thing the girls followed our instructions. We studied Tay Tung for two days, that’s why I’m glad and I am amazed that the kids’ obedience is there,” Adamson head coach JP Yude said after their masterful

25-20, 25-5, 20-22 win over the Thunderbolts at the Adamson University main court on Sunday evening. 

“Then, I told them that it will be easy in volleyball if you follow the instructions. Playing volleyball will be easy. Then always (have the) right mindset because if you have a bad mindset you won’t be able to execute what we trained for.”

Smelling blood after their ruthless showing in the second set, the Lady Baby Falcons went flat-out in the third canto to seal the win. 

Adamson’s middle blocker Lhouriz Tuddao and opposite hitter Abegail Segui fired from all cylinders, blindsiding the Thunderbolts who were fixated on suppressing their teammate, graduating spiker Shaina Nitura. 

Tuddao established a brick wall by delivering five blocks from her 11-point output while Segui carved out seven points in the third set alone as she finished with 10 points.

Nitura delivered 10 points from eight attacks and two aces despite being the focal point of the Thunderbolts’ defense. 

“I think Tay Tung still has something to show. I know their game, I know how fearless they are. I guess they just got overwhelmed with the crowd, especially since we’re in our home court,” said Nitura, who is set to debut for Adamson in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball tournament Season 87 next year.  

“I know what Tay Tung is capable of, so we didn’t relax and get laid back because they can do something that could defeat us.”

The SGVIL crown signified a fruitful first half of 2024 for Adamson, as it was its second title after coming off a sweep in the UAAP Season 86 girls’ volleyball tournament in February.

On the other hand, Bacolod Tay Tung’s Rhose Almendralejo went cold with only seven points while Jothea Ramos, Dona De Leon, and Camila Bartolome were limited to just five points each.

The Thunderbolts still surpassed their third-place finish in the inaugural edition despite seeing their five-game win streak snapped in the most important match of the tournament.