The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons currently find themselves at the end of losing streaks as the first round of the UAAP Season 87 Volleyball Tournaments nears its conclusion.
With two matches left for both squads, they need to muster their courage to become giant slayers and bring down the upset axe against the defending champions National University (NU) today, March 9, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The UP Men’s Volleyball Team (MVT) looks to halt their four-game slump after a grueling 18-25, 19-25, 11-25 beating against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Spikers last March 5.
State U has yet to replicate their success during their opening day win against the University of the East, leaving them in seventh place with a 1-4 record.
The Fighting Maroons need to recoup quickly from their match against the España-based squad where all Maroon shirts were limited to single digit scoring, including star rookie Olayemi Raheem who was contained to a career-low of 3 points.
Newcomers Kobe Aca-ac and Tommy Castrodes were bright spots for State U in their previous outing after top scoring with 6 and 5, respectively.
Rookie setter Angelo Aballe has also been posing solid numbers for the squad, putting up a game average of 12 excellent sets in his past two games as a starter.
On a positive note, the Fighting Maroons may pick up their improved attack executions in their next assignment as they minimized errors in their latest match to 15, compared to their game against De La Salle University where they committed 32.
As they go face-to-face with their NU counterparts who they are yet to beat since Season 78, the UP MVT will have to give all their might when they open today’s gameday at 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, the UP Women’s Volleyball Team (WVT) slid to their third consecutive loss handed by the UST Golden Tigresses, 11-25, 23-25, 25-23, 12-25.
After a dream 2-0 start, the Diliman-based squad was dragged down to a 2-3 record, landing to sixth place in the standings.
In their search for a third win, the Maroon volleybelles will look to get their offense going against the undefeated NU Lady Bulldogs through Kianne Olango and Joan Monares who combined for 31 points in their game against UST.
The “next woman up” mentality instilled by head coach Benson Bocboc will be put to the test as the status of middle blocker Niña Ytang hangs in the air as of writing.
In their previous match, Ytang was feeling unwell and remained on the sidelines.
The squad will also bank on utilizing their improvements in the reception department in facing NU, as they tallied a season-high 32 excellent receptions in their match against UST.
To prepare for the upcoming match, the team will be back to the drawing board to find solutions against the much taller NU squad.
“Kailangan namin paghirapan. Kailangan namin mag-training [at] gumawa ng diskarte kasi malalaki sila [NU] and kami medyo nasa smaller side so ‘yon nga, hardwork pa rin,“ said Monares in a post-game interview with Tinig ng Plaridel.
UP WVT is currently on an eight-game losing streak against their NU counterparts, with their last victory dating back to Season 80.
The squad will take on the taraflex as they open the afternoon games at 1 p.m.
