UNDEFEATED University of Santo Tomas (UST) secured the No. 1 seeding in the semifinals after a quick work of Australia guest team Southern Storm Melbourne, 25-20, 25-14, 25-9, in the 2026 Shakey’s Collegiate National Invitationals on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Golden Tigresses neutralized the Australians’ height advantage by beating them to the draw with fast and angled attacks to break their defensive wall on their way to a 4-0 win-loss record.
It was the veteran duo of Angge Poyos and Regina Jurado who did most of the damage as UST inched closer to completing an elimination round sweep.
Poyos punched in 14 points on 13 kills and an ace while Jurado played her first game in the tournament after sitting out the first two and contributed eight points for the España-based squad.
‘I’m grateful we secured this win in straight sets. The opponents were tall and in the first set, I was still trying to find my rhythm,’ said Poyos, who was limited to three points in the first set.
Marga Altea also had eight points for the Tigresses, who will face Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Volleyball Club on Thursday to close the elimination phase.
No player from the Aussies’ side reached double-digit scoring, with Cleo Anastasias finishing with nine points.
Isabella Smith and Steph Baker had six and five points, respectively, for Southern Storm, which already secured a semis seat on Tuesday night after beating the Vietnamese, 25-15, 26-24, 20-25, 24-26, 15-12.
The Australian squad shoots for the No. 2 seed against College of Saint Benilde on Thursday.