USJ-R girls volleyball team beats UC, returns to Cesafi finals
USJ-R Baby Jaguars high school girls volleyball team huddles at center court after beating UC Baby Webmasters in the Cesafi girls volleyball tournament semifinals on Saturday, December 2, 2023. | CDN Digital photo / Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars will return to the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) high school girls’ volleyball tournament finals after routing the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, 3-0, in the semifinals on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at the University of San Carlos (USC) Main Campus gymnasium.
The girls of multi-titled head coach Roldan Potot didn’t break a sweat in beating the Baby Webmasters after winning all three sets in their best-of-five sets semis showdown.
USJ-R started with a 25-20 first set win and went on to seal a much easier second set 25-16, banking on their relentless attacks, while exploiting UC’s unforced errors.
The USJ-R Baby Jaguars sealed their victory with a 25-8, rout in the third set.
Also in the third set, the Baby Jaguars had a scorching 12-3 start and went on to build a double-digit lead, 15-5, anchoring on their service aces.
Middle blocker Angel Mae Almoña led USJ-R in their lopsided third set outing through her three-point rally from her attacks and back-to-back service aces.
Almoña’s sterling performance helped the Baby Jaguars build a staggering 15-point lead, 23-8, their biggest.
Substitute Julia Gwyneth Diaz then put the icing on the cake for USJ-R after scoring both the match and set points.
Last season, USJ-R fell short in winning the girls volleyball title after losing to the defending champions, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, in a five set thriller.
The Magis Eagles currently play against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers in the other semifinals pairing.
The finals of the girls’ volleyball and boys’ volleyball tournament is slated tomorrow, December 3, 2023, at the same venue.
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