The UST Golden Spikers and NU Bulldogs grabbed dominant victories over the Adamson Soaring Falcons and the UE Red Warriors in the UAAP Season 86 men's volleyball tournament on Wednesday, April 3.
The University of Santo Tomas is back in the fourth spot after dispatching Adamson University in four sets, 25-17, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, in the UAAP Season 86 men's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Wednesday, April 3.
Coming off the Holy Week break, the Golden Spikers, who are coming off a thrilling five-set win over National University, showed no signs of rust as they overpowered the Falcons in the first and second set.
Adamson was able to escape with the third set and even looked poised to force a fifth set after leading 16-13 in the fourth frame. However, five-straight points gave UST the lead and the momentum.
Leading 23-22, Josh Ybanez sealed the win with back-to-back hits as the Golden Spikers moved to a 6-4 record for fourth while the Falcons dropped to a 4-5 record for sixth.
Ybanez had an all-around game for UST with 25 points on 24 attacks and one service ace to go along with 12 excellent digs and 27 excellent receptions.
Gboy De Vega added 18 points and 18 excellent receptions in the win.
Marc Paulino led Adamson with 16 points while Francis Casas and Jude Aguilar finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the first game, NU bounced back from their five-set defeat against UST with a dominant straight-set victory against the University of the East, 25-13, 25-17, 25-16.
The Bulldogs took control from the get-go and never looked back as they hounded the Red Warriors with their emphatic attacks and strong defense to tack the first two sets in dominant fashion.
After trailing 14-5 in the third set, the Red Warriors managed to pull off an incredible rally to tie the score at 20-all after Tebs Aligayon's attack went over three NU blockers.
The Bulldogs, however, found their groove once more as the returning Michaelo Buddin and super rookie Jade Disquitado combined to secure another straight-set victory for NU.
Disquitado finished with a game-high 16 points on 13 attacks, two blocks, and one ace while Leo Aringo added 15 points on 12 attacks and three blocks on 67% attack efficiency.
Buddin, the Season 85 second best outside hitter, contributed four points in his return following a fractured right-hand injury as NU moves to 8-2 in the standings at first place.
Aligayon paced the Red Warriors, who slid to a 1-8 record, with 12 points on 10 attacks, an ace, and a block.