UAAP: Green, Lady Spikers look to earn second wins in second round

After a week-long layoff, the DLSU Green Spikers and Lady Spikers will return to action when they take on the FEU Tamaraws and the UST Golden Tigresses, respectively, in the second round of the UAAP Season 78 Volleyball Tournament tomorrow, March 12, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Each squad is gunning for their second consecutive win to start the second round. The Lady Spikers have a chance to grab the top spot in the standings with a victory, while the Green Spikers could further improve their place in the season standings.

Shot at revenge

Despite coming into the game with a 5-1 win-loss record, the Lady Spikers lost to an underperforming but dangerous UST squad in a sweep, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21, in their first round meeting.

EJ Laure and Cherry Rondina took the scoring cudgels for the Espana-based squad, combining for 24 points en route to their impressive upset of their more fancied rivals.

Ara Galang led La Salle with a game-high 15 points, while Majoy Baron added 10. However, the team committed 29 costly errors that played a big role in their defeat.

The Lady Spikers got back on the winning track after surviving a five-set thriller against the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 25-14, 25-9, 22-25, 19-25, 15-7, to open the second round last week.

Kim Dy spearheaded the Green-and-White this time around, scoring 14 points in the victory. Galang and Baron put up their usual contributions as both women wound up with 13 points apiece. Cyd Demecillo added 12 points, most of which were scored in the crucial period.

UST, on the other hand, had little trouble putting away the UE Lady Warriors. They beat them in three sets, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16, to send their opponents to their 53rd straight loss in the tournament.

It was Laure and Rondina at the forefront once more, with the dynamic duo dropping 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Keeping the momentum going

Last Saturday, the Green Spikers beat the UP Fighting Maroons in a five-set thriller, 27-25, 25-21, 18-25, 23-25, 15-11, to grab their second win of the season. With a game-high 27 points, team captain Raymark Woo led the team to victory, scoring on 23 attacks and three blocks. Arjay Onia also closely followed with 14 points off 11 attacks and an ace.

The Green-and-White squad finished with 58 attacks, 12 blocks, and four service aces. On the other hand, UP had 44 attacks, 14 blocks, and eight aces.

Meanwhile, the FEU Tamaraws fell short in their game against the reigning champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, 19-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-21, 15-11, last Saturday.

During the match, four FEU spikers finished in double-digits during the game, with Gregorio Dolor scoring a team-high 16 points. Jude Garcia, Jeric Gacutan, and John Paul Bugaoan added 15, 13, and 11, points, respectively.

The game between the Green Spikers and FEU will be the first match of the day at 8 am, while the Lady Spikers will face UST later that day at 3:30 pm.