Spikers’ Turf: Green Spikers look to bounce back against FEU

For the DLSU Green Spikers, last Wednesday’s debacle is a thing of the past. After failing to secure a win given the 2-0 set advantage they gained early in the game against the NCBA Wildcats, the Taft-based squad will try to regain the fire that fueled their four-game winning streak earlier in the season as they face the FEU Tamaraws tomorrow, 3pm, in the San Juan Arena.

Both teams are coming off devastating losses to start their Spikers’ Turf Collegiate Conference quarterfinals, as FEU also dropped their quarterfinal opener to the undefeated ADMU Blue Eagles.

In their first quarterfinals game, the Green Spikers fell to the Wildcats in five sets, 25-27, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-9. Errors from NCBA and timely attacks helped the Taft-based squad grab the first two sets. The Wildcats, however, took the last three sets, after a flurry of attacks on La Salle. Team captain Raymark Woo led the team with 18 points from his 15 spikes and three blocks.

The Tamaraws, on the other hand, were beaten by the Blue Eagles in their most recent game in four sets, 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17. Scoring from 15 attacks and 2 blocks, team captain Gregorio Dolor led the Tamaraw charge, which wasn’t enough to overcome Marck Espejo’s 20 points.

A major concern for the Green Spikers highlighted by last week’s loss was their service reception. Green Spikers head coach Ronald Dulay commented on their weak receives against the Wildcats, which doomed DLSU in the final three sets.

Meanwhile, FEU needs more players to contribute on offense in order to keep its season campaign alive. Their previous outing saw only Dolor crack double digits in the scoring column, with Joshua Barrica and Peter Quiel finishing with the second highest outputs for the Tamaraws with five points apiece.

Both DLSU and FEU posted fewer total errors than their opposition during each team’s most recent outing, and errors can be expected to spell a major difference in tomorrow’s game.

On Monday, expect a thrilling match between two teams as they look to bounce back from their recent losses with only a handful of games left before the Spikers’ Turf semifinals.