UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas (UST) defeated and booted out Far Eastern University (FEU) 26-24, 22-25, 25-16, 25-23 to complete the Final Four cast of the UAAP Season 85 women's volleyball tournament on Sunday, April 23, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
UST, which improved to 9-3, joined co-second seed NU (9-3), third seed Adamson (9-4) and top seed La Salle (11-1) in the semifinals.
The La Salle Lady Spikers were still playing the Ateneo Blue Eagles at press time.
Eya Laure poured 28 points on 23 attacks including the match-clinching off the block hit to lead the Golden Tigresses.
Laure, who notched eight digs, also had two blocks and three service aces.
Detdet Pepito took care of the floor defense department with 21 excellent digs and 19 receptions.
Imee Hernandez came through as well with 19 points while Cassey Carballo dished out 17 excellent sets.
After securing a Final Four spot, UST head coach Kungfu Reyes said that their next target is a top two finish which merits a twice-to-beat incentive in the playoffs.
"Now that we're part of the Final Four, we're going to target the top two so we can have a twice-to-beat incentive in the semifinals," said Reyes.
The Golden Tigresses had a hard time fending off the Lady Tamaraws, especially in the fourth set.
Laure put UST at match point with a cross court attack but an Alyzza Devosora attack and a Janna Torres error made it 22-24.
Laure, though, put the Lady Tamaraws away and sent the Tigresses to the semis with an off the block attack.
Gerzel Petallo logged 11 points, 19 receptions, and five digs to pace FEU, which fell to 6-7.
Mitzi Paningin backstopped Petallo with a team-high 12 markers.
Earlier, FEU arrested its four-game slide by escaping the error-plagued UST 25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-10 to wheel back into Final Four contention in the men's division.
The Tamaraws improved to 7-6 to remain in the top four range.