By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts reached the semifinals of the 2023 Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational after a 25-22, 25-23 win over University of Santo Tomas (UST) Junior Tigresses in the quarterfinals at San Andres Gym in Manila on Sunday, May 21.
Katherine Shaine Cortez was hailed as Most Valuable Player of the match after registering 11 excellent sets as the Thunderbolts kept their untarnished slate in the weekend-only tournament.
Alexia Marie Montoro led the way on the offensive end for the Thunderbolts with 11 points, while Jothea Marie Ramos and Mary Bontia contributed nine markers each in the straight-set victory.
The Thunderbolts struggled with their points early in the first set as they were down 13-16 before unloading six straight points to take a 19-16 lead, but the Junior Tigresses responded with three straight hits to tie the count at 19-all.
The Thunderbolts were down 22-21 to the Junior Tigresses, but back-to-back errors from UST followed by conversions from Jihan Chuatico and Ramos allowed the Bacolodnons to snatch the set.
It was the same story for Bacolod Tay Tung in the second set as they went down 10-17 before banking on the Junior Tigresses’ errors and connections from Montoro to cut the deficit to one point.
The Junior Tigresses were still ahead at 20-22 late in the set, but two powerful hits from Montoro, a drop shot and a block from Chuatico, and another attack from Montoro sealed the win for the Thunderbolts.
“Nag-communicate kami inside the court,” Cortez said about their mid-set struggles.
“Nagtiwala lang kami sa isa’t isa, hardwork and nakinig sa mga instruction ng coaches namin,” she added.
“Medyo off kami sa simula. Off ‘yung receive, off ‘yung passing pati ‘yung blocking. Buti nakabawi kami sa huli,” Thunderbolts head coach Ian Macariola said, whose wards trounced Adamson, Kings Montessori School and Lyceum Cavite in the group play.
The Thunderbolts are set to face Naga College Foundation, which came from a 14-25, 25-17, 25-17 win over De La Salle-Lipa, in the semifinals round slated on Saturday, May 27 at the same venue./ASC, WDJ