University of the East saved the best for last as it crushed Far Eastern University, 27-25, 25-23, 25-16, to clinch the bronze medal of the Philippine Superliga Collegiate Grand Slam yesterday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
With skipper Meann Mendez leading the way, the Lady Red Warriors clobbered the Lady Tamaraws in one hour and 26 minutes to land on the medal podium of this prestigious collegiate tourney bankrolled by Isuzu, Mikasa, Senoh, Asics, Mueller, UCPB Gen and Bizooku with Genius Sports as technical sponsor.
Mendez dropped bombs from the firing end as she finished 15 kills and an ace for 16 points, while Judith Abil delivered 12 markers and 10 excellent receptions for UE, which grabbed its first medal in a major women’s volleyball tourney since Season 67 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
“Our mindset coming into this match is that we want to finish the season on a positive note. We’re happy to win the bronze medal,” said UE head coach Karl Dimaculangan.
Dimaculangan, also an assistant coach at Generika-Ayala and brother of Petron setter Rhea Dimaculangan, said they could have easily finished the Lady Tamaraws if not for their 32 errors.
“We’re still very prone to errors. We gave a lot of points to FEU just like what happened in our loss to them in the eliminations,” said Dimaculangan.
“But I’m glad that my players recovered after a tight first two sets and lessen our errors in the third.”
Libero Kath Arado was also instrumental with 16 digs to claim her second bronze medal after an impressive third-place finish by the Lifesavers in the All-Filipino Conference.
Petron and F2 Logistics, however, are still clashing for the All-Filipino gold medal while University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas are disputing the Collegiate Grand Slam title at press time.
Lycha Ebon was the lone bright spot with 10 points for the rookie-laden Lady Tamaraws, who settled for fourth place.”‹