Lady Spikers survives another five set classic

For the second consecutive game, the DLSU Lady Spikers made a comeback to force a deciding fifth set and eventually win the match against the NU Lady Bulldogs last January 19 at the Arena in San Juan.

Ara Galang again led the Lady Spikers, scoring 21 points; four of which came from blocks. Mika Reyes and Team Captain Abigail Maraño scored 13 apiece.

Though the Lady Spikers failed to duplicate the team’s first round three-set victory against NU, the ladies still won to separate both teams in the standings, 7-1.

Close match

Both squads did not give an inch to the other from the start of the opening set. Lead changes were seen until the ninth point of the set, but after a series of tied scores, the Lady Spikers managed to break away with couple of points to finish the set with three straight points, 25-20.

The second set was a close as the first. La Salle and NU exchanged runs. Maricar Nepomuceno played led DLSU against the Lady Bulldogs’ top gun, Dindin Santiago. In the final exchange of blows, Nepomuceno scored four points to counter La Salle’s three points. NU then tied the match score at one-all after winning, 23-25.

An extended 24-26 third set buried the Lady Spikers to place the team on a, 1-2, deficit. The Green-and-White squad managed to take the match point at 24-22, but the team was not prepared for Lady Bulldogs’ four-point run.

The NU Lady Bulldogs improved in the blocking department in the second and third set after revealing their defense weakness on the first set. The team managed to out block the Lady Spikers in the aforementioned sets, 5-2 and 4-1, respectively.

Lady Spikers escape

Still down by one, the Lady Spikers showed championship composure as the team stopped the Lady Bulldogs at 13 points to win the fourth set. NU’s Santiago could not score in the fourth set as the Taft Spikers forced the former into a do-or-die fifth set.

In the final set, the Lady Spikers managed to ignite a six to nothing run to end the match.

In the attack department, both squads ended the match tied at 50 while La Salle capitalized on NU’s 41 errors to sum up the match. The Lady Spikers, the number one blocking team, edged the second best blocking team, 13-10.