UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas guns for its sixth straight victory as it clashes with University of the Philippines Wednesday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The unbeaten Tigresses are not giving an inch in the 2 p.m. match with the winless Fighting Maroons.
Adamson University and Ateneo take the floor in the day’s other fixture at 4 p.m.
In the men’s division, skidding UST hopes to check a surprising three-match losing skid against last-place UP at 10 a.m. The Blue Eagles, coming off a stunning five-set reversal of the Golden Spikers that gave them solo fourth in the standings, tangle with the Falcons at 12 noon.
Behind prolific rookie Angge Poyos, UST logged a perfect 5-0 record, its best start since opening its 2010-11 campaign with six straight wins.
Although she is running second behind University of the East’s do-it-all newcomer Casiey Dongallo in scoring, Poyos displayed efficiency in attacking, leading the league with 43.93 percent.
Poyos is third behind her teammate Cassie Carballo in the service department with a 0.40 average per set, and the 20-year-old open spiker is among the league’s top 10 in blocking.
But Poyos is simply focusing on helping the Tigresses in winning games.
“My mindset is to play and contribute to the team. That’s very important and not the individual performance. My focus is to focus on offense and defense,” Poyos said.
It has been a frustrating 0-5 start for UP in coach Oliver Almadro’s first year, but there is a silver lining with it, as Niña Ytang continues to lead all comers in blocking, which will be UST’s one main concern.
As it alternated losses and wins after five matches, Adamson is looking for a victory to remain within the top four range. The Lady Falcons, who hold a 2-3 record in fifth place, seek to rebound from a 13-25, 22-25, 17-25 defeat to the Lady Tamaraws last Saturday.
Ateneo, which has lost two in a row, sits in sixth place with a 1-4 card.
