UE's Jasmine Alcayde and Roselle Baliton combine to block UST's Cherry Rondina. Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports

MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas (UST) head coach Kungfu Reyes was genuinely impressed with the improvement shown by University of the East (UE) in the past two seasons of UAAP volleyball.

After three straight winless seasons from Seasons 75 to 77, the Lady Warriors notched a breakthrough victory in their final game of Season 78 against Adamson University, and have been very competitive in all three of their contests in Season 79 so far.

Against the Tigresses on Wednesday, UE sleepwalked through a nine-point first set, then woke up to give UST a scare in the second and third. They succumbed in straight sets, 25-9, 25-22, 25-23, but it was another show of improvement for a team that was rarely competitive in seasons past.

• READ: Tigresses grab first win in three starts

"Hindi pwede magpabaya. Otherwise, kakainin ka ni UE nang buong-buo," said Reyes after the game. "Gusto ko rin i-commend ang UE."

"Habang tumatagal, sa two years ko sa collegiate, 'yung transformation ng team, napakalaki agad. Good job kay Coach Francis (Vicente) at the rest of the coaching staff."

Save for their easy victory in the first set, the Tigresses found themselves being challenged by the Lady Warriors for most of the game. They had trouble navigating UE's net defense, and Jasmine Alcayde in particular pounced on UST's reception errors with quick kills.

A lack of a "go-to" player doomed the Lady Warriors, however, especially with team captain Shaya Adorador benched for lethargic play in the second set.

In contrast, UST had at least two players capable of taking charge in crunch time. In the second set, EJ Laure fired three consecutive kills to break a 22-all deadlock. In the third, it was Cherry Rondina's turn to lift the Tigresses.

Still, the UST players were full of praise for their opponents after the game. Former team captain Pam Lastimosa, who sat out Season 78 due to an ACL tear, was impressed with how much the Lady Warriors have grown.

"Sobrang nag-improve sila sa lahat ng skills," said Lastimosa. "Parang contender na din talaga sila."

"'Yung blocking nila, 'yun ang napansin ko sa kanila kanina. At nag-uusap sila sa court, so may team work na talaga," she added.

UE has yet to win a game in Season 79, but they were able to take a set off National University in their first game of the season.

Meanwhile, UST won for the first time after losing their first two assignments.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)