The UP Lady Maroons emerge victorious in a battle of new beginnings against the UE Lady Warriors.
The UP Lady Maroons on Saturday survived a furious rally from the UE Lady Warriors 25-18, 26-24, 24-26, 13-25, 15-13 to open their UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament campaign on a winning note.
State U seemed on pace to score a straight-setter over UE, until the Khy Cepada-led squad tapped into a higher gear to start their comeback bid for the new UAAP Women’s Volleyball season.
The win officially kicks off the Lady Maroons’ fresh start under head coach Benson Bocboc, the former DLSU Lady Spikers deputy who transferred to Diliman last October.
Here are our takeaways from each team in the season-opening matchup.
In good hands, but…
Apart from securing the “CAL girls” in the offseason, the Lady Maroons are parading a reloaded core for Season 87 that includes juniors’ standouts Kianne Olango, Yesha Noceja, and Bienne Bangsil.
Olango was most impressive in her debut, scoring 15 markers to complement senior Joan Monares’ team-high 17 markers, Irah Jaboneta’s 12, and one-time Best Middle Blocker Niña Ytang’s 11.
“Sa first game ko po talaga, naramdaman ko talaga ‘yung kaba, kasi iba ‘yung venue na ganito kalaki and maraming audience, siguro sa next game kailangan ko maging matapang,” Olango said post-game.
However, State U’s potential was also accompanied by their unforced errors, including miscommunications, missets, and the typical service and attack errors. That, along with nearly squandering a 2-0 lead in sets to the undermanned UE.
State U had 37 errors in their season opener, with 11 alone coming in their doomed fourth set against the Lady Warriors.
“Wala namang excuses pero may mga factor na kailangan natin paghandaan at masanay pa,” Bocboc said of their lapses. “So hindi ko nakikita na nasa kultura [yung problema], lagi naman silang palaban e, ‘yung bandang dulo makikita natin‘yun, so more pa. So mag-aadjust lang kami nang mabilis tas lahat ng mga players off the bench maging ready lang.”
Bocboc also believes that chemistry building will play a huge role in minimizing the Lady Maroons’ unforced lapses.
“So far marami sa kanila pwede magstep up eh, not necessarily ‘yung maraming experience lang. Even the rookies can step up, can be a leader inside. Kaya tinitignan din natin, kung medyo may na-off, papalitan lang natin para ‘yung chemistry is laging buo sa loob. So far ‘yun ‘yung marami naming nakita, then ‘yun ‘yung kailangan naming ayusin,” he said.
What could have been
Over in Recto, it’s hard not to dwell on the “what ifs” after seeing their Lady Warriors’ opening act on Saturday, especially with the back-and-forth affair they forced in Set 2 and their comeback from a 20-15 in Set 3 to extend the contest.
The Lady Warriors even clawed back from a 5-9 deficit in Set 5, forcing a 13-all deadlock before UP middle blockers Nica Celis and Niña Ytang scored the game-sealing kills. Simply put, the fighting spirit remains in UE, which makes us wonder how they could have fared if the offseason circumstances were different.
Khy Cepada unleashed her offensive arsenal with a game-high 24 markers, while Van Bangayan finished with 17 markers built on timely kills for the 11-woman squad. Let’s not forget about Riza Nogales, who showed flashes of her peak form with seven points built on an impressive four rejections.
Libero Angge Reyes also held down the Recto side’s floor, finishing with an impressive 25 excellent digs and 11 excellent receptions as she defended against the Monares and Olango-led UP.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanila, sobra sobra ‘yung ginawa nila ngayong araw na ito, it is more than I expected sa ilalaro nila ngayong araw na ‘to and we’re very happy because despite what happened to us in the past few months and in the past few weeks, hindi kami naging down, mas naging motivated kami. ‘Yun nga lang, sabi ko sa kanila, itong laro naman na ito laging may panalo, laging may talo,” UE head coach Alan Mendoza said.
UE’s fightback was also boosted by early attendees from the UST and FEU matchup, who cheered for the Lady Warriors as they came alive midway into the two hour and 33-minute contest.
“Pero ngayong araw, masasabi ko sobrang panalo kami dahil nakuha namin ‘yung respect and ‘yung crowd. Dun kami naging mas motivated kasi hindi namin school pero andun sila, nakasupport sila samin. Dun pa lang, sabi ko sa kanila [UE], sobrang panalo na tayo,” Mendoza added.
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.