Analysis of the game from a good friend:
UST vs. SSC 3-2The Good:
UST
- Despite the odds, they actually pulled through. Good for them!
- relatively stabilized reception
- Gonzales as the setter. I’ll buck the trend, and declare that with a little more salt and pepper, she’ll be a GREAT setter. Unafraid to send the balls to everyone available. Atta girl!
- Maizo’s blistering attacks on the right side and in the middle combination.
- Balse + floor = best friends. Her spectacular digs in the middle back court were unbelievable!
- Curato….hihihi
in fairness, she was receiving sorta ok consistently, with nary a shanked ball. Besides, it’s always fun to watch a tall libero at work
SSC
- Roces, Roces, and Roces. Her slides to the right side were unstoppable.
- Ancheta’s recognition that Mondejar could actually score when used in combination. She actually made Mondejar look good. Plus some flashes of the good ‘ol connection between her and Davanadera in the form of quick sets/hits in the middle.
- Devanedera’s spectacular hustle for the ball. She was in front of the net, and then she realized the ball was heading for a campfire, so she ran from the net all the way to the back, then back to net again to block. I’ll give her a gold medal for sprinting!
- Devanedera’s availability for a quick attack. She would always jump with Ancheta if the ball was passed too near to the net so that Ancheta could always have her as an option for attacking.
- Tan’s services. It gave a LOT of problems to SSC
The Bad:
UST
- When they’re bad, they’re beyond words. Brrrr
- Tan and Tan and Tan as a setter. Hayz. ‘Nuff said. Not to mention she was frowning when bad first balls were sent to her. I don’t blame her though teehee
- Gonzales as a nervy setter. She was so tense in the second set that was over-setting most of the time. Tan was put in, but no diff. At all. Plus Gonzales has a potential to trash act/talk. Her successful dig on Roces(?) in zone 1 was matched with a trash action and yelp.
- Balse out of sorts in front of the net in the second set. It was so bad she was taken out.
- Curato…hihihi. Just watch the telecast and you’ll understand what I mean
- Oh, I forgot to mention. Cabellejo was out of sorts, too. I was wondering why it took the coaching staff about 2.5 sets before they realized that we wasn't going to deliver that day.
SSC
- Ancheta’s stamina. She was visibly tired in the fourth and fifth sets – slow to get under the ball, and making a lot of inaccurate sets and setting errors.
- Mondejar’s injury in the third(?) set. Just when she was stringing up a series of kills, she gets a bad case of cramps.
- lack of attack on the right side when Devanadera and Ancheta are in front. Ancheta is stuck with giving the ball in front of her, since Devanadera only attacks in zone 3, unlike Roces, who can attack in zone 3 AND zone 2 AND zone 4. Thus the UST blockers have an easier time because they only have to set-up the blocks in their middle and the right-side, and not have to worry about the left side of their net.
- Pepito sisters had an awful day. Bad reception and digs for libero. Come to think of it, I barely noticed her on-court. As for hitter, despite good reception and defense at the back, she was practically useless upfront.
- they just weren’t playing in the first and last sets. UST definitely pounced on SSC’s lackadaisical performance in these sets
The Verdict: For a 5-setter match, it wasn’t great shakes.
congrats sa lahat ng players and ust supporters!
in fairness, she was receiving sorta ok consistently, with nary a shanked ball. Besides, it’s always fun to watch a tall libero at work 
