The UST Golden Tigresses cruised to their sixth straight win, walloping the UP Lady Maroons, 25-22, 25-20, 26-24, in the UAAP Season 86 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, March 13.

The Golden Tigresses, the only undefeated team in the competition so far, equaled their best start in the first round since Season 73.

Leading the pack for the Tigresses was rookie Angeline Poyos with 22 points off 18 attacks, while the frontline duo of Xyza Gula and Regina Jurado pitched in 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Steffi Bustrillo was the lone double-digit scorer for the Lady Maroons with 14 markers.

The Tigresses withstood an error-riddled first frame on a late 10-4 spree, punctuated by a Margaret Banagua kill block to end the first set on a high note, 25-22.

A tight second set featured both teams at 20 points apiece, before an unanswered 5-0 blitz by UST, led by Jurado and Poyos, shook UP, 25-20.

Trailing by two sets, a resilient Lady Maroons sustained a narrow lead for most of the next set, highlighted by their blocking prowess.

With the Tigresses on the verge of match point, 24-23, a Bustrillo attack kept UP’s hopes alive, tying the third set at 24-all.

However, back-to-back hits by Poyos and Jurado closed out a hotly-contested third set to ultimately dash any hopes the Lady Maroons had of extending the game, 26-24.

Despite UP’s 10 total blocks the entire match, the Tigresses took control on the offensive end with 52 attacks, compared to the Lady Maroons’ 34 attacks.

UST head coach Emilio ‘Kungfu’ Reyes said the Tigresses will continue to fine tune their game as they learn from their previous matches.

“[We remind them] everyday, after practice, [we tell them to] keep pushing, maraming adjustments na p’wedeng gawin, and sa part [namin] tinutuloy [namin] kung ano ‘yung sistema, [while] everyday dinedevelop namin ang skills [ng mga players],” Reyes said.

The Golden Tigresses are one win away from completing a first-round sweep and will continue to defend their unblemished record when they take on the Adamson Lady Falcons on Saturday, March 16 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.