In a continuation of their classic rivalry, the DLSU Lady Spikers suffered a tough loss against the ADMU Lady Eagles in five sets, 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 15-5, in their second round showdown in the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Volleyball Tournament last Sunday, April 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Both squads came into the game having clinched twice-to-beat advantages in the Final Four after locking up the top two places in the standings. With the match result, however, the Lady Eagles have now sealed first place and will face either NU or UP depending on the outcomes of the final regular season games on Wednesday, April 13. The Lady Spikers, meanwhile, are now set to face the third-seeded FEU Lady Tamaraws after settling for the second spot.
Alyssa Valdez led the way for the defending champions, finishing with 24 points off 20 attacks. She got ample support from Jho Maraguinot and Bea De Leon, who added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the surging Lady Eagles.
La Salle had four double-digit scorers in the game, led by Ara Galang’s 20 points. Majoy Baron had 15, while Cyd Demecillo and Kim Dy scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, in a game marked by balanced scoring coupled with a number of errors.
In the first set, La Salle raced to a nine-point lead, 17-8, behind strong offense from Galang. With DLSU going to set point, 24-15, the Lady Eagles mounted a 6-0 run led by Valdez, cutting the lead to just three. Majoy Baron had other plans, however, as she spiked the ball off a broken play to win the set for the Taft-based squad.
The second frame proved to be a much closer competition than the first as both squads exchanged scores throughout the frame. Down by two, 21-19, the Katipunan-based squad put on a 4-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. Two consecutive shots that went outside allowed Ateneo to erase DLSU’s single-set advantage.
Building on their momentum from the previous set, the Lady Eagles pounced on a hapless La Salle side with several crippling runs. The most damaging among them was an 8-1 run that gave Ateneo a dominant 25-16 victory in the third set.
Another slugfest ensued in the fourth frame as neither team could pull away from the other. With the game tied at 20-20 near the end of the set, the Lady Spikers saw five different players score the next five points, capped by a mid-spike from Mika Reyes, to force a deciding set.
In the most important set of the game, the defending champions proved to be the more resilient team between the two giants. They led, 10-2, after a block by Maraguinot, while continuously outhustling their rivals to the ball. Reyes sent the ball outside to end the game in favor of the Lady Eagles.
The most glaring stat in the game was the difference in the number of committed errors. DLSU committed 37 errors compared to ADMU’s 24, more than enough to change the game’s complexion. The hustle stats also showed Ateneo finishing with 71 excellent digs as opposed to 62 for La Salle, although the latter had more successful receptions with 49 compared to only 30 for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Spikers will have their final elimination round assignment on Wednesday when they take on the NU Lady Bulldogs in the FilOil Arena in San Juan at 3:30 pm. The game will have no bearing for the Taft-based squad as they have already secured second place, but the Lady Bulldogs would need to win to stay in Final Four contention.
