Alas Pilipinas U-16 girls bounced back from a tough loss against Japan with a three-set drubbing of Iran in the AVC U16 Asian Championship.
Alas Pilipinas U-16 are on the board in the AVC Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship after a swift 25-21, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Iran in Pool B action at the Princess Sumayya Hall in Amman, Jordan on Sunday.
Alas U-16, who showed tremendous fight in their opener against Japan, made sure to make things count this time round.
The Alas girls doubled up on their foes in a strong opening set showing, 14-7, after an ace from Resty Jane Olaguir.
Even as a scoring run from Iran threatened the Alas U-16 late in the set, where they were within a point, 18-19, an untimely service error on the side of the Iranians helped Alas keep distance and poise themselves for the finisher in the first canto.
Errors plagued Iran as an attack error gave the Filipinos the set point, 24-21, before Merish Tiffany Beltran scored to seal the opening set, 25-21.
In Set 2, it was a tougher climb for Alas who battled back from being down 13-17.
Xyz Ellen Rayco powered the comeback late, including three straight points after a 21-all deadlock to put Alas in set point anew, 24-21.
Bolstered by their gritty wins in the first two sets, Alas continued to pour on in the third set, where the team seized control early with an 11-6 lead.
Alas U-16 thus finished off their foes without much threat until the last point, with Cristina Madele Gale providing the finishing blow against Iran.
Rayco paced Alas with 13 points in the victory while Gale added nine markers. Nadeth Faye Herbon had seven points while Beltran added six.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.