The DLSU Green Spikers took down the College of St. Benilde Blazers in four sets, 25-18, 25-19, 17-25, 25-15, to win their third straight game in the Spikers’ Turf Tournament yesterday afternoon at the San Juan Arena.
With the victory, La Salle improved to 3-1, good for second place in their group standings. They trail only UAAP champions Ateneo, who beat them in the season opener.
Team captain Raymark Woo scored a team-high 16 points built on 12 spikes and four service aces to lead his team to victory. Arjay Onia added 15 points on 13 spikes and was adjudged the Player of the Game for the second consecutive match.
DLS-CSB captain John Vic De Guzman led all scorers with 20 points, 10 of which came from spikes, in an attempt to rally the Blazers to the win.
![DSC_1849 []](http://thelasallian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/DSC_1849-.jpg)
“Medyo kulang pa, pero unti-unti umaangat na,” Green Spikers head coach Ronald Dulay said when asked about his team’s performance. “So far, yung training namin for one week, maganda naman.”
The first set began with both schools exchanging scores in a tightly contested game. With the game tied at 6-6, the Green Spikers began to pull away after unleashing a 9-1 run to grab a 15-7 lead. They would go on to win the set, 25-18.
DLSU continued to reel it in the second set behind the efforts of Woo, who scored on several opportunities. They also took advantage of several errors and miscues by the Blazers, which gave them a 14-10 advantage midway through the set. Ralph Calasin, who had nine points in the game, tipped the ball onto to the opponent’s territory to seal the set for the Green Spikers, 25-19.
Facing a two-set deficit, DLS-CSB played with newfound energy at the beginning of the third set. They scored the first four points of the set, capitalizing on several DLSU errors. De Guzman led the offensive onslaught for his squad, sending over several spikes against a hapless La Salle defense. They would get an imposing 20-10 lead against their Taft-based neighbors and never looked back, taking the third set with a score of 25-17.
The Green Spikers would bounce back in the fourth set, going on a scoring barrage that gave them a 15-8 lead. The Blazers were able to get within five points, 15-10, but it would be the closest they could get to the Green Spikers. A 10-5 run culminated by another Calasin tip finally ended the match, giving DLSU the victory.
“Kung ano yung pinag-aralan namin, na-execute namin ng maayos,” Dulay added after the victory.
DLSU’s next opponent will be the UP Fighting Maroons, whom they will face next Wednesday, August 12, at 1pm in the San Juan Arena. This will be the final game for the Green Spikers in the preliminaries of the Spikers’ Turf. The result of next week’s game could determine whether or not they advance further in the tournament.
