THE UST Golden Tigresses aim to sustain their unbeaten run as they face the Ateneo Blue Eagles at the start of the UAAP Season 86 women's volleyball second round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.
Leading the league with a 7-0 slate, UST battles the fifth seed, 2-win, 5-loss Ateneo at 4 p.m. in the main event of a double-header that starts with the contest between the third running NU Lady Bulldogs (5-2) and the seventh seed UP Fighting Maroons (1-6).
The Golden Tigresses stopped the Adamson Lady Falcons 25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 28-26 last Saturday to sweep the first round and post their best start in the Final Four era.
Despite having a strong and historic start to the season, UST team captain and reigning Best Libero Detdet Pepito said that the Kungfu Reyes-mentored team cannot let their guards down, especially with the rest of the field looking to get back at them this second round.
"We have a lot of things to improve. We can't be complacent because we know that the other teams are eager to get back at us. We need to double or even triple our effort so we can have a better result this second round," said Pepito.
Pepito has been a major factor for UST in the first round with her strong floor defense, while spikers Angge Poyos, Regina Jurado, and Jonna Perdido have been taking turns on the offensive end behind the playmaking of Cassie Carballo.
The Golden Tigresses look to continue that as they try to repeat over the Blue Eagles whom they defeated in the first round 25-19, 25-16, 25-19 on March 9 when the rookie Poyos unleashed a career-best 26 points.
Ateneo, on the other hand, seeks to recover from a poor first round which it ended with a 22-25, 25-22, 13-25, 21-25 defeat to FEU last Sunday.
Lyann de Guzman and Sobe Buena are out to lead the charge for the Sergio Veloso-coached team as the fifth seed Blue Eagles try to keep themselves in the Final Four picture.
Meanwhile, the UP Fighting Maroons look to build on their first win of the season at the expense of the UE Lady Warriors 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-17 last Sunday.
It's no easy task for UP, though, as it faces an NU Lady Bulldogs team determined to recover from a tough 25-15, 19-25, 25-18, 19-25, 12-15 defeat to defending champs De La Salle Lady Spikers last Saturday.
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Standings: UST 7-0, DLSU 6-1, NU 6-1, FEU 4-3, ADMU 2-5, ADU 2-5, UP 1-6, UE 1-6
Games Today ( Smart Araneta Coliseum): 2 p.m. NU vs UP (w), 4 p.m. Ateneo vs UST (w)
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