The DLSU Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Teams obtained contrasting results facing their respective Adamson equivalents in last weekend’s UAAP Volleyball action.
The Lady Spikers breezed past the Lady Falcons in a sweep, 25-13, 25-11, 25-18, yesterday afternoon, while the Green Spikers lost a five-set thriller against the the Soaring Falcons, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 13-15, in an early Saturday morning showdown. Both matches were held at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Green Spikers’ win streak snapped
Despite grabbing a 2-1 set lead, the Green Spikers were unable to close out the game in the last two frames, allowing the title-contending Falcons to mount a comeback late in the match.
Dave Pletado and Jerome Sarmiento provided the much needed scoring for the Falcons, dropping 19 and 16 points, respectively. Team captain Michael Sudaria added 13 points, while Nico Ramirez had a game-high 47 excellent sets to lead their team to the win.
The result spoiled a career game from La Salle star Raymark Woo, who tallied a season-high 39 points off 34 attacks. Levin Dimayuga and Arjay Onia had 14 points apiece for the Taft-based squad, while birthday celebrant Geuel Asia had 47 excellent sets. Their defeat also snapped a three-game win streak to begin the second round.
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It was a nip and tuck affair to begin the first set with the game tied at 10-all midway. The Green Spikers would outscore the San Marcelino-based team, 15-7, in the remainder of the frame behind Woo, who proved unstoppable on offense.
Adamson countered in the second set by grabbing an early four-point lead, 7-3, which would grow as the set progressed. They did not relinquish the lead they built, putting up a lead that went up to as many as seven points before Pletado hit a spike from the middle to tie the game at 1-1.
Come the third frame, it was DLSU who cruised past their opponents this time around. Woo and Dimayuga spearheaded the La Salle attack to help them get a 2-1 set lead. Unfortunately for La Salle, a 6-0 Falcon run midway in the fourth set allowed Adamson to tie the game at two sets apiece. This gave way for a fifth and final set.
The San Marcelino-based squad looked poised to pull away at the start of the fifth period, leading 6-3. The Green Spikers mounted a rally and were temporarily able to hold a 10-9 lead. However, a spike from Pletado and two consecutive service aces from Ramirez killed the momentum for the Green-and-White, eventually losing the set and the match, 15-13.
Despite holding a huge 72-57 advantage in number of attacks, the Green Spikers committed 11 more errors than Adamson, 28-17. The team also struggled to contain Pletado’s midcourt offensive effort, which allowed the Falcon spiker to have a field day against the La Salle defense.
Sweep Sunday
On the other hand, it was complete domination by the Lady Spikers in their match against the Lady Falcons in last Sunday’s double-header.
Even with veteran Cyd Demicillo sitting out due to a knee injury, the Lady Spikers wasted no time pouncing on a hapless Adamson side that currently ranks seventh in the team standings. Kim Dy top-scored once again for La Salle with 11 points. Ara Galang and Kim Fajardo added 10 points apiece, while Mika Reyes had eight. Fajardo also had 33 excellent sets in her team’s fourth straight victory.
No player from the Lady Falcons reached double figures in scoring, with stars Jessica Galanza and May Roque being held to a combined eight points.
The first two frames saw the Taft-based squad go on blazing runs to grab large leads by the middle of the sets. This also enabled DLSU to field in sparingly used players, giving them the needed run to gain valuable experience. In particular, May Luna strutted her wares by dropping five points in the second set alone after coming off the bench.
Things weren’t as easy in the third set as Adamson attempted to get back into the game behind Roque. With Adamson down by only a point at 8-7, however, Roque suffered a bad fall for which she had to be stretchered off the court. Her absence allowed the Lady Spikers to pull away once again, this time due to fine play from Fajardo.
Up by 18-11, the Taft-based squad looked to have the game in the bag, but Falcon substitutes Bernadette Flora and Ronjean Momo weren’t ready to give up just yet. The duo sparked a 6-1 run to get within two points, 19-17, making it a ball game once again. Not wanting an extension, Galang spearheaded a 6-1 DLSU run, which Fajardo ended with a surprise tip to the opponent’s territory.
DLSU held advantages in all three scoring categories. They won the attacks battle at 39-20, the block battle with 5-0, and the service ace battle at 12-2. Various players contributed for the Green-and-White, which made it hard for Adamson to catch up with their game plans.
Both squads will enter a two-week hiatus due to the Holy Week festivities. The Lady Spikers will resume action against the UE Lady Warriors, whom they’ll meet on April 2, Saturday, at 2 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena. The Green Spikers, meanwhile, will have the league-leading ADMU Blue Eagles as an opponent on April 3, Sunday, at 10 am in the FilOil Arena.
