UST women’s volleyball gets shot in the arm with breakthrough streak-busting win

When the UST Golden Tigresses beat the NU Lady Bulldogs on Saturday, they did not just snap the latter’s incredible 20-game winning streak. They might have also exorcised the ghosts of years past, when the Lady Bulldogs seemed to be their albatross dating back to high school.

The breakthrough win made one thing crystal clear: The UST program is maturing—and leading the way are Eya Laure and Regina Jurado, who have both been playing for the España-based school since their high school days. That means they have had a front row seat to that amazing NU program, which UST coach Kung Fu Reyes described as very deep.

That program has won five of the last six titles in the juniors division, with the senior team finally breaking through last season with its own championship run. And, along the way, NU has repeatedly denied UST, beating the ladies in yellow over and over and over.

So, forgive Reyes if he considers Saturday’s streak-busting win as “one for the books” for UST. It was a long time coming.

“Mga homegrown talent yun ng NU na na-keep nila. Kami rin, meron kaming set na hindi rin kami manalo kay NU since nung high school, bukod nung last na champion namin kay Eya,” Reyes said post-game. “Hanggang ngayon hindi kami nananalo kay NU. Ganun kalalim yung program nila.”

But that UST program runs just as deep. And it appears to be coming into its own—with some help from reinforcements such as Milena Alessandrini, whom Reyes applauded for showing that Filipino fighting spirit by playing through a sprained ankle.

“’Yung continuity ng [UST] program na almost 10 people or 8 ang naglalaro sa ‘min, 'yung sistema andun,” Reyes explained. “Kaya lang… limited 'yung resources namin kaya kumuha kami ng additional talent na kayang tumapat [sa NU].

Now, the Golden Tigresses look like a worthy foil to the heavy favorites over at Sampaloc, Manila thanks to their continuing growth as a team.

“Nakita na namin yung isa’t isa kung pano kami nag-grow in time. Since high school, magkaka-batch talaga kami…,” said Laure, the team’s captain. “Sa training pa rin talaga, grabe yung pag-aaral, grabe yung tyaga. Sabi nga sa amin ni coach, i-submit nyo lang 'yung best nyo sa training, maniwala lang kayo sa sistema, at pagta-trabahuan natin to sama-sama.”

With the Golden Tigresses no doubt giving their best to the program, the best might be soon to come.