MANILA, Philippines — Despite missing key players, University of Santo Tomas extended its winning streak over its rival La Salle UAAP women’s volleyball tournament to four games dating back to last year.

UST may be missing key players including injured spiker Jonna Perdido, who is always on top of her game against La Salle, but the Tigresses asserted their mastery of the Lady Spikers, pulling off a come-from-behind 25-12, 22-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-13 win on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

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READ: UAAP women’s volleyball: UST outlasts La Salle in 5-set thriller

Reigning two-time Best Libero Detdet Pepito, who had a stellar floor defense with 24 digs and 16 excellent receptions, believes their character has been the key to their success against the Ramil De Jesus-coached team, which has yet to beat UST since last year.

“I think it’s our grit. This time, we brought back that hunger. We reminded each other to draw strength from one another because, in the past few games, we were kind of playing individually,” Pepito told reporters in Filipino.

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UST Golden Tigresses celebrate win over La Salle Lady Spikers in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net

“We struggled because we’re not the type of team where just one person scores. We need teamwork, and we showed that today. The result was positive, so hopefully, we can keep it up in the next games.”

LIVE: UAAP Season 87 volleyball – La Salle vs UST, Adamson vs UE

Pepito added that she got more help defensively, this time, after splitting their first two games. And coach KungFu Reyes reminded them to fight for school pride.

“It’s just normal, how we prepare for our opponents, nothing special. He always tells us to have pride. We’re carrying UST, not just our individual names. It’s all about pride,” she said.

Pepito is also proud of the whole team for stepping up in the absence of Perdido and Xyza Gula as well as Kyla Cordora, who sprained her ankle last game.

“They’re out there on the court, and I’ve never let them down. It’s important to have someone push them because, for sure, they might lose confidence since they’re rookies. But with everyone’s help, we’ve been able to make them trust themselves,” she said.