In a battle between a veteran core and an up-and-coming batch of players, the DLSU Lady Spikers pulled off a rousing four-set victory over the UP Lady Maroons, 18-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-21, earlier today at the FilOil Arena in San Juan. With the win, La Salle ties Ateneo for the best record in the league with eight wins and two losses.
Kim Dy and Mika Reyes led DLSU to their third straight victory after both players finished with a game-high 14 points. Ara Galang added 12 points on 11 spikes, while Cyd Demecillo and Majoy Baron scored eight points each. Kim Fajardo was named Player of the Game after contributing two points and all 32 of her team’s excellent sets.
Diana Carlos led UP with 14 points off 10 spikes and three blocks, while Isa Molde, Kahty Bersola, and Marian Buitre added eight, seven, and six points, respectively for the Lady Maroons.
The Lady Spikers came out of the gate as the more aggressive team after scoring the game’s first four points. After calling a timeout, the Lady Maroons went on an 8-1 run that gave them an 8-5 lead heading into the first technical timeout of the set. UP and DLSU continued to trade points, but the former’s floor defense, coupled with a number of La Salle errors, pushed the Lady Maroons’ lead to seven, 24-17. Baron quickly salvaged a point for DLSU but a down-the-line spike from UP ended the first set in favor of the Lady Maroons, 25-18.
Both teams traded points in the opening moments of the second set until the Lady Spikers scored six consecutive points to take an 8-3 lead heading into the first technical timeout of the set. La Salle continued to pull away as they went on a 16-4 run to move within set point, 24-7, behind the efforts of Reyes, Baron, and Fajardo, who faked the defense on a number of occasions to score. UP would salvage five points to cut the deficit to 12, 24-12, but in the end, La Salle forced UP into another error to take the set at 25-12.
La Salle and UP remained neck-and-neck in the third set, with Baron and Reyes matching the spikes from the Lady Maroons. With the set tied at nine, UP went on to score four straight points to take a 13-9 lead, forcing DLSU head coach Ramil De Jesus to call a timeout. When play resumed, the Lady Spikers scored five straight points to take the lead back. Reyes and Dy kept DLSU in front, with Demecillo’s down-the-line spike ending the set, 25-18, and propelling DLSU to be a set away from victory.
The Lady Spikers could not distance themselves from the Lady Maroons as both teams traded points at the start of the fourth set. Entering the fourth set’s first technical timeout with an 8-6 lead, DLSU relied on veterans Demecillo and Galang to slowly inch themselves away from UP. In the end, experience won the game as Galang’s spike and a miscommunication from the Lady Maroons ended the set and the match, 25-21. The celebration, however, was bittersweet as Demecillo fell to the floor clutching her leg after the Lady Spikers scored the deciding point of the match.
La Salle was the more careful team in this game, as they only had 31 errors to UP’s 35, most of which came from their numerous service errors. Fajardo’s 32 excellent sets were more than what UP finished with in the loss, as Jewel Lai had 27 of her team’s 28 excellent sets. Offensively, the Lady Spikers finished in double figures in spikes (42) and service aces (10), whereas UP only had 33 spikes and seven service aces.
The Lady Spikers will head on over to the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, March 20, when they take on the Adamson Lady Falcons at 3:30 pm.
