By Mark Escarlote @fromtheriles

University of Santo Tomas (UST) averted a second-set collapse before completing a sweep of hapless University of the East (UE), 25-21, 26-24, 25-20, to boost its Final Four bid in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament on Easter Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The Golden Tigresses were able to regroup just in time to stop the Lady Warriors’ furious comeback from nine points down in the extended second frame and kept their safe distance in the third en route to back-to-back wins for a 7-4 win-loss record.

Angge Poyos posted 17 points on 14 kills, one bill block, and two aces, including the match-clinching service winner for UST. Poyos added nine digs and six excellent receptions.

Regina Jurado chipped in 11 markers and nine digs, Avril Bron had eight points, while Blessing Unekwe and Xya Gula added six and five markers, respectively, for the Tigresses.

Drawing energy from its crowd, UST has now won all of its homestands this season, including an elimination-round sweep of the Lady Warriors and a second-round victory over Far Eastern University last week.

“Obviously, we’re far from being in our (top form). There’s still a lot for us to work on, especially in our discipline. We’re repeating the same mistakes we want to change. We have to strengthen our mental toughness and emotional toughness,” Tigresses coach Lerma Giron said.

“Lesson learned that we can’t relax even with a big lead. We have to finish it until the end,” she added.

UST squandered a 24-15 advantage in the second frame as it allowed UE to save nine set points to force a deuce, 24-24.

A costly service error by Shania Olmoguez gave the Tigresses back the set point advantage before Bron scored a kill block on Khy Cepada for a 2-0 match lead.

UST erased an early deficit in the third frame before building enough separation to keep the Lady Warriors at bay.

“We really have to work on our mental toughness and patience so we’ll be able to control our emotions and avoid feeling tense,” Poyos said.

UE remained winless in 11 starts and has lost a total of 25 straight since last season.

Cepada had 17 points on 15 kills and two aces, while Bea Zamudio added 12 for the also-ran Lady Warriors.

Meanwhile, six-peat-seeking National University (NU) survived a gritty Adamson University side in a 23-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 15-8, come-from-behind win to book an 11th straight Final Four appearance.

The Bulldogs used a scorching 9-0 closing run in the fifth set to erase a 6-8 deficit on their way to a 9-2 slate in solo second spot.

Leo Ordiales dropped 26 points on 20 attacks and six kill blocks to lead NU, which won its 12th straight head-to-head match with the Falcons since 2018.

Adamson fell to a 2-9 card, tied with UE and missed the Final Four for the seventh year in a row.

In the other men’s play, UST showed UE the exit door in the semis race with a 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-23 victory for a 7-4 record in solo third spot.

Two-time Most Valuable Player Josh Ybañez led the Golden Spikers with 25 points on 21-of-39 attacks, two blocks, and two aces, alongside six excellent receptions and five excellent digs.

For the Red Warriors, their quest for an elusive Final Four spot ended, dropping to a 2-9 card with three games remaining in the eliminations.