UST, USPF Keep Quarterfinal Hopes Alive in Shakey’s Volleyball
MANILA — University of Santo Tomas (UST) kept its quarterfinal bid alive with a 25-17, 25-18, 28-30, 25-14 victory over debuting Team Soccsksargen in Pool B of the 2024 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Thursday. Marga Altea led the Lady Tigresses with 11 attacks, five blocks, and an ace, helping them recover from a loss to the University of Batangas Lady Brahmans the previous day.
According to Philippines News Agency, the team still has much to improve, particularly in communication. “We still have a lot to improve on, especially our communication. As a new team, it’s super hard for all of us because coming from different schools and regions, we only have five core members of the UST GVT so it’s super hard to pull us all together. But we were able to find a way and I hope this will continue,” she said after the match.
Abigail Sinson contributed 13 points, including an ace that gave UST a commanding lead in the fourth set, while Kaizah Huyno added 11 points. For Team Soccsksargen, Janelle Maignos finished with 16 points, Tresha Parong had seven, and Shendy Acebo chipped in six points.
Meanwhile, University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) defeated Lyceum of the Philippines University, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, in Pool C. Ressel Pedroza scored 15 points for the Lady Panthers, who previously lost to the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws. USPF, reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) champion, will advance to the quarterfinals if FEU wins over Lyceum on Friday.
The tournament format involves all teams playing in a single round-robin group stage, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the crossover knockout quarterfinals. The semifinals will also be played in a do-or-die format, and the gold and bronze medal matches are best-of-three series. If the title showdown ends in two games and the battle for third is tied after Game 2, the bronze medal winner will be decided via FIVB tiebreak.