By MARK REY MONTEJO
Gerz Petallo was brilliant, rookie Lovely Lopez shone in crucial moments, and Far Eastern University finally ended the long losing spell against De La Salle University, 25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 25-23, in their last elimination game in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament Saturday, April 26, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Tamaraws solved the riddle and scored their first win against the Lady Spikers since April 2019, with Petallo and Lopez making sure to seal the deal and hike their record to 9-5, tying the Taft-based squad and building a possible three-way tie if University of Santo Tomas bows in Sunday’s colossal match versus National University.
However, La Salle will take the third spot with more straight-set wins this season, while the Tina Salak-mentored crew will settle for the fourth spot.
Petallo had 19 points with 11 excellent receptions, Lopez notched eight points with three excellent digs and three receptions, while skipper Tin Ubaldo impressed anew with 22 excellent sets, including her crucial plays for Ellarina (13), Chen Tagaod (10) and Faida Bakanke (10) who all had key distributions to keep FEU afloat.
Angel Canino towed La Salle with her big effort of 25 points with 10 excellent digs and 11 excellent receptions. Jyne Soreno shone for the second stringers as she tallied 11 points.
Shevana Laput, who was sidelined in the latter part of the game added 12 points, while Amie Provido added nine.
Meanwhile, Ateneo snapped its four-game slide after defeating the slumping University of the East for a hard-earned 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 27-25 win to end its campaign this year on a victorious note.
