UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas (UST) rolled to a Game 1 victory over Arellano University, 25–12, 25–18, 25–13, in the 2026 V-League Collegiate Challenge semifinals on Wednesday at the Playtime FilOil Center.
The Golden Tigresses will try to secure a place in the Finals on Saturday at 3 p.m., still at the same San Juan venue.
Already up by two sets, the third-seeded Golden Tigresses stepped on the gas in the third, racing to a 20–9 lead behind captain Reg Jurado’s service ace.
Ash Knop scored on two kills, Zinny Unekwe served another ace and Ella Gutierrez finished with a cross-court spike as the Golden Tigresses completed the sweep in just over an hour.
“Maybe our performance percentage is getting good, it’s improving. And of course, their adaptation to the system, they are slowly understanding what we want to happen. Everything we saw earlier, we really invested in that during training,” said head coach Shaq Delos Santos on how his wards pulled off the win.
Angge Poyos led the way on both ends with 19 points from 16 attacks and three aces, to go with nine digs, while Marga Altea added 15 markers, including three blocks.
Jurado also posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 digs, while Unekwe chipped in five points off the bench.
UST pounced on Arellano’s reception woes early, steadily building a commanding cushion in the opening set, with Unekwe making her presence felt at the net.
Poyos’ booming kill restored UST’s eight-point, 18–10 advantage before her ace stretched the lead to double digits at 21–11, eventually allowing the Golden Tigresses to take the opening set.
Arellano managed to address its passing problems in the second set to keep the game close, but UST made the necessary defensive adjustments to pull away and take a 2–0 lead.
The Lady Chiefs will look to regain their winning form and extend the series in Game 2.
No Arellano player reached double figures, with Princess Al-ag leading the team with seven points. Cris Servidad and Catherine Chu were limited to four and five markers, respectively.
