The Lady Tamaraws secured the No. 2 seed heading into the semifinals with a 6-1 card, just ahead of the College of Saint Benilde Lady Blazers, who finished at 5-2—all thanks to FEU’s strong finishing kick in the third and fourth sets.
The best-of-three semifinal series between FEU and Benilde opens Wednesday at the same San Juan venue.
Top seed Adamson University (7-0) will take on Arellano University (4-3) in the other semifinal pairing for a spot in the Finals.
Gerzel Petallo spearheaded FEU’s attack, particularly in their decisive fourth-set surge, tallying 21 points built on 19 attacks and two service aces, on top of five digs and seven excellent receptions. Alyzza Devosora provided ample support with seven points, 10 digs, and nine excellent receptions.
"Yung sa game ngayon, I think medyo naging complacent 'yung team pero bumawi naman kami. Aware naman kami na naging gano'n 'yung galaw ng team; so, ina-adjust lang naming na walang mag-a-underestimate ng (kalaban) kasi lahat gustong manalo," said Petallo on their slow start and eventual recovery.
"Yun, talagang naging mas eager po kami at mas nag-step up kami lahat para hindi po mangyari 'yung hindi po natin gusting mangyari."
With head coach Tina Salak unavailable, deputy mentor Manolo Refugia took charge and fielded all but one player from the lineup, still finding the collective effort he wanted from the semifinal-bound Lady Tamaraws.
Skipper and setter Tin Ubaldo once again orchestrated the offense masterfully, dishing out 23 excellent sets alongside five points as FEU overwhelmed Perpetual in the attacking department, 62-32.
Jernalyn Menor tried to keep Perpetual in the fight with 21 points off 20 spikes and a service ace, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Lady Altas to a strong finish.
The Lady Altas wrapped up their campaign with a 2-5 record, settling for sixth place in the eight-team field.
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