UAAP: DLSU Spikers notch twin victories

The DLSU Green Spikers are on the winning track.

After suffering a tough loss at the hands of the NU Bulldogs during the season opener, the Taft-based Green Spikers redeemed themselves as they won their first game of the season against the UP Fighting Maroons in four sets, 25-23, 16-25, 15-25, 23-25. Red Christensen led the charge for his team with 19 points and two blocks followed by Raymark Woo who contributed 17 points along with two service aces and a block.

On the other hand, the UST Tigresses bowed to the DLSU Lady Spikers as the reigning three-peat champions defeated the España-based squad in dominant fashion, winning in straight sets, 25-8, 27-25, 25-13. Team captain Abi Maraño was the game’s best scorer with 14 points, four coming from blocks and four from service aces.

Seeking redemption

The Fighting Maroons showed early signs of dominance while La Salle struggled with several errors and outside hits in the first set. Jeffrey Lansangan and Miguel Wendel were the main men for UP as they scored 12 and 10 points respectively. The Green Spikers tried to catch up late in the set, seeking the forces of Christensen, Woo and Kevin dela Vega. UP’s lead was cut to only one point at 24-23, but La Salle failed to tie the game after a mishit by Christensen.

The Green Spikers immediately bounced back in the second set with a 6-0 run including three service aces from dela Vega. They maintained composure with solid spikes and powerful hits coming from team captain Philip Cerveza. La Salle didn’t look back and took the set, 25-16, courtesy of back-to-back service aces from Woo.

La Salle then outscored UP in the third set and even led by as much as nine points. The Green Spikers showed more consistency with the domineering drives of Christensen, Woo, Cerveza and dela Vega. They took the third set with a 10-point lead after a service error committed by UP.

It wasn’t easy though for the Green Spikers to take over the fourth set as UP was pushing for a five-set match. Both teams were chasing each other as they tied it at 23 all. La Salle then scored the last two points for the match point, 25-23.

Driving for dominance

The ladies from Taft made it a one-sided game early on as they made a 12 to nothing run to begin the first set. UST was nailed at 15-2 but a service error coming from Mika Reyes ended their drought. Blocks from the tandem of Maraño and rookie Desiree Cheng coupled with strong hits by Cyd Demecillo and Ara Galang kept the Lady Spikers ahead of UST. La Salle maintained distance from UST and won the first set convincingly, 25-8.

The volleybelles from España then came alive in the second set with Marivic Meneses, Mela Tunay and Pam Lastimosa leading the charge for their squad. The Lady Spikers were left behind by as much as four points, but they managed to get back on the right foot to tie the set at 20. A service ace from Kim Fajardo set the match point for the Lady Spikers but UST clawed back and brought the score to 25 all. The deadlock was then followed by a La Salle block and a spike from Galang which were the winning points for the Lady Spikers.

La Salle seemed to be in a hurry to finish the entire match as the third set appeared to be a repeat of the first set. The Lady Spikers opened the set with six straight points, including back-to-back hits from Reyes. La Salle then racked up 10 straight points and continued to overpower their opponents. The Lady Spikers managed to finish the set, 25-13, after a miscommunication by UST to seal the match.

The Lady Spikers’ head coach Ramil de Jesus commended UST for playing well and putting up a good fight. He also shares that his squad’s victory was due to total team effort. “‘Pag mayroon nagstep-up talaga, tuloy-tuloy na iyon[g] [magandang laro]. Team talaga,” says de Jesus.

Up next for the Green Spikers are their familiar foes, the FEU Tamaraws, whom they battled in last year’s UAAP semifinals, while the Lady Spikers will face one of the tallest teams in the league, the NU Lady Bulldogs. La Salle’s Spikers will battle their foes on December 11 at 10 am for the Men’s Division and 4 pm for the Women’s Division at The Arena in San Juan.