Lady Warriors edge Lady Titans to start V-League campaign

MANILA, Philippines – The new-look UE Lady Warriors started its V-League campaign with a win following a straight-set victory over the NAASCU champions Enderun Lady Titans, 25-16, 25-16, 25-20 Wednesday afternoon at the Paco Arena in Manila.

UE had a comfortable nine-point lead in the third set, 16-7, following a service ace by Mary Ecalla.

But Enderun showed why it won the NAASCU women's volleyball championship as they stormed back and cut the lead to just two, 15-17, off a block on Casiey Dongallo.

UE, however, caught fire in just the right time as they quelled the Lady Titans’ comeback effort, 25-20, following an off-speed hit by Jelaica Gajero.

New recruits Dongallo and Gajero carried the load for the Lady Warriors.

Other newbies Claire Castillo, Kizzie Madriaga and Grace Fernandez also saw some playing time against Enderun.

"We are happy with the progression [of the new kids.] For me, it is a good progression that the new players will get used to [playing in the big leagues,]" UE head coach Jerry Yee said after the game. 

He underscored the need to fix lapses a they saw in the game. 

Gajero, meanwhile she was "very excited" to play as a college player in the V-League. 

Gajero, who was a highly-sought recruit straight from the Antipolo-based California Academy, said she still needs to work on a lot of things, "so we can do things better." 

"We lacked on some basic stuff... and service. I felt like we had some mental lapses, and we have some time to fix it," she added.

The game had a scary scene in the third set after Enderun's Rhean Almendralejo had to be subbed out after sustaining an injury.

With Enderun down 5-10, Almendralejo crashed to the floor as she tried to keep the possession alive for the Lady Titans, her face hitting the floor.