By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts kicked off its campaign in the 2023 Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational with a 29-27, 25-16 sweep of Adamson University Baby Falcons at San Andres Gym in Manila on Sunday, May 7.

Alex Marie Montoro was hailed as the Most Valuable Player of the Match after top-scoring with 13 points for the Thunderbolts, while Jothea Ramos also provided offensive spark with 11 markers.

“We adjusted with our receive and first ball after the first set,” Montoro said.

“It also helped that we trusted each other, our hard work on the floor as well as trusted what the coaches told us,” she added.

The Thunderbolts was engaged in a tight battle with the Baby Falcons early in the first set as they hung on to a slim 16-15 lead before the latter went on a run to build a 23-18 advantage.

Two attacks from Montoro, a drop shot from Dona Mae de Leon and three miscues by the Baby Falcons allowed the Thunderbolts to tie the score at 24-all before reaching match point at 26-24 on an attack by Ramos and an ace by Jihan Chuatico.

The Baby Falcons tied the score for the last time at 27-all via an attack from Shaina Nitura, but back-to-back conversions from Ramos and Ana Hermosura clinched the set for the Thunderbolts.

The Thunderbolts was all business in the second set as they cruised to a 5-0 start before widening the advantage to 20-10 behind the conversions of Montoro, Ramos and Hermosura.

The Lady Falcons managed to show some life as they trimmed the deficit to 16-22, but the Thunderbolts leaned on two attacks by De Leon and a service ace by Ramos to seal the win.

“It was a good start for us, but there were some testy sequences, especially in the first set,” Thunderbolts assistant coach Roberto Calamba, Jr. said.

“It was a nice performance by our players since we are facing a UAAP runner-up team in Adamson,” he added.

The Bacolod City-based volleybelles will aim for their second victory against Lyceum of the Philippines Cavite Junior Pirates this Saturday, May 13 at 12:00 noon at the same venue./ASC, WDJ