Spikers’ Turf: DLSU falls to NU in four sets to drop to 1-2

The DLSU Green Spikers suffered a setback in their Spikers’ Turf campaign as they could not overcome an undefeated NU squad that clinched yesterday’s quarterfinal match in four sets, 27-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, at the San Juan Arena.

Arjay Onia once again came up big for the Green Spikers as he finished with a game-high 22 points. However, NU had significantly more firepower as Ismail Fauzi and Madzlan Gampong combined for 36 points to give the Bulldogs their eighth victory in as many games.

The Green Spikers looked like the more confident team as they weathered an early 2-1 deficit to take a 15-10 lead midway through the first set. NU, however, slowly trimmed the lead until they tied the game at 22 in the latter part of the set. The undefeated Bulldogs then proceeded to put the clamps on the Green Spikers to maintain the lead and win the set, 27-25.

La Salle responded in the second set by overcoming another early NU lead to go up by three, 8-5, heading into the set’s first technical timeout. The Green Spikers extended their lead to four multiple times, yet the Bulldogs responded by attempting rally after rally. Despite NU’s efforts, it was DLSU’s turn to take charge, outplaying their UAAP rivals to clinch the second set, 25-21.

With their unblemished record on the line, NU proceeded to take their third early lead in as many sets, leaving DLSU behind, 7-4. The Green Spikers responded with a 5-0 run to take back the lead, 9-7, but the Bulldogs remained composed, recovered, and held on to a 16-15 lead heading into the second technical timeout of the third set. When play resumed, NU never looked back as they held on to the lead and took the set, 25-22.

The fourth set saw DLSU go up to 2-1, hoping to gather enough momentum to force a fifth and final set. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs broke a 4-4 deadlock by going on a 4-1 mini-run to take an 8-5 lead entering the first technical timeout of the fourth set. From then on, it was all NU, as they extended their lead to as much as seven, 18-11, before winning the match by sealing the set, 25-18.

Of the two teams, the Green Spikers took care of the ball more, as they only committed 27 errors to NU’s 34. The Bulldogs, however, had two other players aside from Fauzi and Gampong who finished in double figures, as Bryan Bagunas and Francis Saura added 16 and 10 points, respectively. For DLSU, Onia and Raymark Woo, who finished with 12 points, were the only double-digit scorers, with Cris Dumago nearly joining them with nine points. Ralph Calasin, Rafael Del Pilar, Geuel Asia, and Mike Frey combined for 13 points and rounded out the scoring for La Salle.

The Green Spikers will end their Spikers’ Turf quarterfinal round against NCAA champion EAC. Both teams will square off next Wednesday, September 2, at 1pm in the San Juan Arena.