By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Finally, after one full year, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons tasted a victory in the UAAP Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Entering their Season 86 matchup against the University of the East (UE) with a goal of halting its 17-game UAAP losing streak, the Fighting Maroons had all reasons to celebrate after pulling off the much-needed victory, 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-17, on March 17, 2024, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Fighting Maroons were firing from all cylinders against the Lady Warriors and showcased its best volleyball performance since 2023.
It was exactly March 5, 2023, when the Fighting Maroons last clinched a win in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament. After that, UP began to crash in the team standings after failing to follow it up in the last two seasons.
UP were unfazed in facing UE and their super rookie Casiey Dongallo during the fiery matchup. With coach Oliver Almadro’s redefined defensive system deployed to the Fighting Maroons, the determined players stuck to the game plan and put up an efficient two-way performance.
“I’d like to thank my players for trusting the system and the process and we know it’s really hard to win right now in the UAAP, napakataas ng level ng UAAP but they did not stop working hard,” said Almadro after the win.
The duo of Joan Monares and Irah Jaboneta stepped up for the Fighting Maroons after contributing 12 points apiece.
Monares spearheaded UP’s quick burst in the opening set after immediately pummeling three perfect sets that set the tone for the Fighting Maroons.
Meanwhile, it was Jaboneta who acted as UP’s stabilizer after the Lady Warriors equalized the match at 1-1. In the last two sets, the veteran attacker put up crucial points that helped the Fighting Maroons pull away late in the game.
With the win, the Fighting Maroons just nabbed its first victory of Season 86 and will look to follow it up when the second round of the preliminaries kicks off.
