By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Angge Poyos once again lived up to the hype and showed why she is one of the league’s “Super Rookies” after leading the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses to a sure slot in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Volleyball tournament.
Poyos set a new UAAP record for most points by a rookie in the Final Four era after unloading a career-high 31-point performance while spearheading UST’s attack to fend off the Adamson University Lady Falcons, 22-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-20, on April 3, 2024, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The upcoming spiker also put herself in the Mount Rushmore of UST attackers after equalizing Eya Laure’s career-high outing of 31 points when she led the Golden Tigresses to a grueling four-set win last two years against the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).
Aside from making her mark in the UAAP as a rookie, the explosive spiker also helped the Golden Tigresses formalize its place in the Final Four.
Despite giving up the first set after the Lady Falcons played inspired volleyball, the Poyos-led UST squad was able to flip the switch after head coach Kungfu Reyes deployed some much-needed adjustments on the defensive end.
After UST’s defense started to jive to the delight of their chief tactician, their offense began to weave magic as Poyos started to heat up and pummel the Adamson defensive line.
Poyos continued her relentless offensive attack in the last two sets and willed the Golden Tigresses to a hardly-fought third-set win to help them gain the confidence they needed in wrapping up the match in the fourth.
UST then just proved to be too much in the final frame and sucked the life out of Adamson after unleashing a pivotal 5-1 scoring run that extended their advantage to six points.
“Well-prepared naman yung team, may kasamang swerte at nakuha namin yung dati naming inaasam na at least mapasama kami sa Final Four. Ngayon nandito na,” said Reyes after the win.
Bernadett Pepito, UST’s team captain and star libero, anchored their floor coverage defense after tallying 21 excellent digs and 17 excellent receptions.
Meanwhile, the duo of Regina Jurado and Jonna Perdido connived for 24 points, 13 receptions, and 21 excellent digs.
