Lady Spikers a win away from 4-peat

The pressure is on for the ADMU Lady Eagles as the DLSU Lady Spikers won the second game of the UAAP finals, and are now one game away from making history and winning their fourth championship in a row, a feat that has never been accomplished in the history of the UAAP Women’s Volleyball tourney. It will be a do-or-die game for the Lady Eagles as they will fight to keep their season alive in hope of winning their first ever championship in the UAAP.

Game Two was definitely a breath of fresh air for the Lady Spikers as they took matters into their own hands and seized the win that day. Compared to the first game, the Lady Spikers performed much better as they bounced back from their first loss of the season.

Based on their performance last Saturday, it seems that momentum has shifted over to the volleybelles from Taft Avenue. With this win, the Lady Spikers are an inch closer to win the championship for this season.

A shift in momentum

The Lady Spikers were back in their winning form in the game last Saturday as they played solid volleyball in the three sets that they won. What won it for the Lady Spikers was their ability to parry the attacks of the Lady Eagles which was something that they seemed to lack in Game One. The Lady Spikers were much more consistent and precise in their receptions in the second game as they were able to anticipate the attacks of the Lady Eagles and rally back with counterattacks of their own.

In addition to this, their offense was back on track as they punished the Lady Eagles throughout the game. Veteran Ara Galang was the one who led the pack with 17 points, 16 of which came from attacks and one from a block. She proved to be one of the main weapons of the Lady Spikers on offense as she led their barrage of attacks that overcame the Lady Eagles’ defense and she was named the player of the game. Following her lead were fellow veteran player Mika Reyes who finished with 14 points and team captain Abigail Marano who tallied 11 points.

Make or break

For the Lady Eagles, it was a momentum killer as the Lady Spikers snapped their eight game winning streak last Saturday. Due to this loss, they are at risk of elimination with their opponents needing only one more win to take the championship, making Game Three a must win for the women in blue. Compared to their performance in Game One where they had a total of only 22 unforced errors, this number increased to 34 for the Lady Eagles in the second game.

The Lady Eagles struggled to find the sweet spot for their attacks, but they managed to rally back in the third set where they won their only set of the match, 25-19. As they approach Game Three, the Lady Eagles hope to regain momentum once again and keep their season alive to extend this series to a penultimate Game Four.

Game Three is sure to be a thriller and it will be held tomorrow, March 12, at 3:30 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena. Will the Lady Eagles stay alive and push for a Game Four or will the Lady Spikers end the season right there and then to take the UAAP Season 76 Women’s Volleyball crown?