UST did what no team had done this season.
When the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses dropped the second set against De La Salle University Lady Spikers, Eya Laure had a simple reminder for her teammates.
“Normal magkamali. Pwedeng bumawi,” she said. “Yun lang lagi. Kailangan wag lang magre-relax and of course, tandaan kung ano yung pinunta naming dito which is [manalo].”
It worked wonders.
Things went their way since then as the Golden Tigresses dealt the top seed Lady Spikers their first defeat, 25-19, 14-25, 25-18, 25-12 in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.
After UST won the opening frame, La Salle imposed its might and made life hard for the Tigresses with its impeccable blocking.
But when Laure and company finally figured it out how to attack and cover bases at the same time, points came easy for UST.
The son of former PBA player Eddie almost singlehandedly carried her team in the third frame before Milena Alessandrini and Regina Jurado joined the fray and the Tigresses jumped to an 18-9 lead in the fourth set.
They refused to ease on the gas pedal from there.
Laure fired 29 points, all on attacks. Alessandrini scattered 20, while Jurado chipped in 12 for the Tigresses, who improved to a 7-3 win-loss record to tighten their grip on the No. 3 spot.