Far Eastern University (FEU) star Chenie Tagaod was not at all surprised at how they defended the net against the University of the East (UE) on Sunday afternoon, April 2.

The Lady Tamaraws recorded a whopping 23 blocks — the most so far in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament — in a 25-16, 18-25, 25-23, 25-16 win over the Lady Warriors.

Tagaod had six blocks to her name, more than the entire UE team, which only had two.

Their effort at the net helped compensate for their struggles on offense as FEU had just 37 kills to UE’s 50.

“Siyempre po, gumana,” Tagaod said of their blocking.

“Kasi, pinag-ensayuhan po talaga namin,” she said.

“Ang una po naming ginagawa sa ensayo talaga, ‘yung blockings, bago po ‘yung attack. ‘Yun po, kaya siguro lumabas ngayon ‘yung blockings namin, kasi ginawa namin kung ano man ‘yung sinabi ng coaches sa amin,” she added.

A huge block by Mitzi Panangin gave FEU a 2-1 advantage, as she rejected Ja Lana at the net to deny the Lady Warriors a comeback in Set 3.

That set the tone for the Lady Tamaraws’ strong start in the fourth period, where they zoomed to a 9-1 advantage.

Panangin finished with five blocks of her own for 11 points. Tagaod had 20 markers, including 12 kills and two aces on top of her six rejections.

FEU coach Tina Salak was pleased that the work put in by their coaching staff paid off in impressive fashion.

“Sobrang commendable ‘yung coaches ko na nage-effort talaga doon sa blocking para tulungan sila doon sa timing ng block,” Salak said.

“Malaking factor ‘yung 23 points. No words na para sabihin pa na, coach, we did it. Ito ‘yung numbers eh,” she added.

The win hiked FEU’s record to 5-5 — already a massive improvement from last season’s doomed campaign where they went 1-13.

Salak said they will work double-time even during the Holy Week break to sustain their momentum, and hopefully make a late push for a Final 4 spot.

FEU will be back in action on April 16 against defending champion National University. (ABS-CBN News)