S87 Collegiate Volleyball: La Salle-UE, FEU-Adamson match-ups set

UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Volleyball Standings
Women
NU 4 0
UST 4 1
FEU 3 2
DLSU 2 2
AdU 2 2
UP 2 3
Ateneo 1 3
UE 0 4

Men
FEU 5 0
UST 4 1
NU 3 1
Ateneo 2 2
DLSU 2 2
AdU 1 3
UP 1 4
UE 0 5

Games on Saturday
(SM Mall of Asia Arena)
9 a.m. – DLSU vs UE (Men)
11 a.m. – AdU vs FEU (Men)
1 p.m. – DLSU vs UE (Women)
3 p.m. – AdU vs FEU (Women)

FAR Eastern University seeks to wrap up a character-building three-match stretch with a victory as it faces Adamson University on Saturday, March 8, 2025, in the UAAP Season 87 women's volleyball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Coach Tina Salak hopes for a good result in the 3 p.m. clash with the Lady Falcons, as the Lady Tamaraws try to solidify their hold of the third spot.

After surviving a five-setter to Ateneo, FEU posted its first winning streak of the season with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 win over University of the East last Wednesday.

"Malaking motivation din sa mga bata and of course, gusto rin namin improve pa yung kung ano yung kulang namin today kasi ang marami paring lapses and i-improve namin-- so dapat hindi kami dapat nagkukulang, dapat i-improve namin most especially doon sa mga small balls going against sa ibang teams sa UAAP ngayon, dapat nai-eliminate namin yung mga errors na ganoon," Salak said.

("It's also a big motivation for the kids, and of course, we want to improve on what we were lacking today because there were still a lot of lapses. We need to work on those—so we shouldn't be falling short; instead, we should improve, especially in handling small balls when facing other teams in the UAAP. We need to eliminate those kinds of errors.")

Adamson is currently tied with De La Salle in fourth place at 2-2 and is seeking to avoid its first losing streak of the season.

The Lady Tamaraws are bracing for what the Lady Falcons' prolific rookie Shai Nitura, the currently No. 2 in scoring, can offer.

The Lady Spikers play the winless Lady Warriors at 1 p.m., with the 12-time champions eyeing to post their first back-to-back victory of the tournament.

Even with UE feeling the pinch of its shorthanded roster as it absorbed back-to-back straight-set losses to Adamson and FEU, Noel Orcullo, coach Ramil de Jesus' trusted assistant, knows that the key is to play the right De La Salle volleyball way.

The Lady Warriors, still looking for their first win after a 0-5 start, are getting the needed numbers from Khy Cepada and Van Bangayan, and libero Ange Reyes doing everything on the defensive end, but these are not enough to tide them through.

"Hindi namin sya iti-take it lightly na kalaban since maraming nawala sa UE. Yun yung lagi naming sinasabi sa mga bata, kahit maraming nawala, nakita niyo naman lumalaban. Hindi pupwedeng baliwalain ang UE dahil every game laban sila. Kaya't hanggang maaari, paghandaan, i-scout kung ano yung dapat i-scout sa kanila," said Orcullo.

("We're not going to take them lightly as opponents, even though UE lost many players. That's what we always tell the kids—despite the departures, you can see that they're still fighting. We can't underestimate UE because they give their all in every game. So as much as possible, we need to prepare, scout them properly, and study what needs to be scouted.")

Angel Canino and Shevana Laput, who are fifth and sixth in scoring, are expected to impose their will early to set the tone for the Lady Spikers.

In the men's division, FEU tries to inch closer to sweeping the first round as it tangles with Adamson at 11 a.m.

As the Tamaraws are enjoying their finest start since the Jude Garcia-led squad opened the 2019 season with seven straight victories, assistant coach Rene Dulay wanted to see his troops to continue their heads-up showing after an impressive preseason campaign.

"Ang tingin namin, with a combined team effort, malaking factor ‘yon kasi with a 5-0 record, we’re still pushing para mas gumanda pa yung performance namin in the next games... Well prepared kami, pinaghahandaan namin itong mabigat na stretch. May program kami na sinusunod even though coach Ed (Orcullo) can't make it most of the time, nagssend siya ng kung ano gagawin namin. Sinusunod lang namin yung program niya para mamaintain yung success namin," said Dulay.

("We believe that with a combined team effort, it’s a big factor because, despite our 5-0 record, we’re still pushing to improve our performance in the next games... We are well-prepared and ready for this tough stretch. We have a program that we follow, and even though Coach Ed (Orcullo) can't always be present, he sends us instructions on what we need to do. We just follow his program to maintain our success.")

For coach Jose Roque, it's all about mental after De La Salle split its first four matches. The Green Spikers take on the Red Warriors at 9 a.m. to open the Saturday quadrupleheader.

"I think in terms of physicality, somehow nandoon yung focus namin. Mental side, it's more on emotional ang kailangan namin i-work out. We're trying to do something about it and also, in terms of chemistry, nandoon na kami, it's just that hindi pa namin maexpose totally pero we're getting there," said Roque.

("I think in terms of physicality, our focus is there somehow. On the mental side, we need to work more on the emotional aspect. We're trying to address that, and when it comes to chemistry, we’re already there—it’s just that we haven't fully showcased it yet, but we're getting there.")

All games are available for free for local and international fans via the Pilipinas Live app. The games are also live on free-to-air TV via One Sports (Ch. 6) and in high definition on the UAAP Varsity Channel (Ch. 263 on Cignal TV).

(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team