MANILA, Philippines -- The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons showed better composure down the stretch in a four-set triumph over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the V-League Women's Collegiate Challenge.

UP improved to 2-0 in Pool B after a hard-earned 28-26, 22-25, 25-21, 27-25 triumph over the Tigresses on Wednesday at the Paco Arena in Manila.

Joan Monares starred for UP with 14 of her 15 points coming on kills, while skipper Jewel Encarnacion contributed 12 points including the kill that concluded the match after two hours and 20 minutes.

"Proud [kami] sa mga bata, kasi nag-adjust kami doon sa isang set na natalo kami," said UP assistant coach Kirk Beliran. "Sabi nga namin kanina, back to basics kami, na bumalik kami sa service naming may target, and doon sa blocking and floor defense namin."

The Tigresses were on the verge of forcing a fifth set after back-to-back hits from Pierre Angeli Abellana that put them at set point, 25-24. But a poor set by UST's Cassandra Carballo allowed UP to extend the match, and Abellana committed a hitting error in the next rally to shift the advantage to the Fighting Maroons.

UP did not squander the lead, with Encarnacion powering an attack through the UST blockers to seal the win.

"Every time na nakaka-error kami, bigla kaming nada-down, so we have to find our momentum again. Kailangan namin mag-restart. At the same time, kailangan namin mag-enjoy at mag-usap," said Monares after the match.

It was an error-strewn affair, with UST getting 38 free points off UP's miscues, only to commit 48 unforced errors of their own.

Abellana finished with 15 points, while Imee Hernadez and Jona Perdido contributed 10 points each for the Tigresses, which fell to 0-2 in Pool B.

UP will contest the top seed in Pool B with another unbeaten team, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, on Friday.

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