UAAP Finals: Lady Spikers sweep Ateneo to seize Game 1

The DLSU Lady Spikers drew first blood in the best-of-three championship series after defeating the ADMU Lady Eagles in straight sets, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21, in the first game of the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Volleyball Tournament Finals earlier today at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.

Coming off a big win against the FEU Lady Tamaraws, the Taft-based squad wasted no time in imposing their will against their well-rested rivals, who enjoyed a one-week break after defeating the UP Lady Maroons last Saturday. Finding themselves trailing for majority of the first two sets, the Lady Spikers maintained their composure and were able to come back and steal the first two sets.

“Malaking bagay sa amin yung down kami, then kumapit kami para manalo,” said DLSU head coach Ramil De Jesus after the game.

Mika Reyes was awarded Player of the Game honors after scoring 13 points off six blocks. Kim Dy added a team-high 15 points on 11 attacks, while Ara Galang and MaJoy Baron had 10 points apiece. This was Galang’s first finals appearance since suffering a knee injury in last year’s semi-finals.

Ateneo was once again led by reigning UAAP MVP Alyssa Valdez, who had a game-high 17 points. No other players scored in double figures for the Katipunan-based squad.

The Lady Eagles raced to an early 7-1 lead in the first set after a Bea De Leon block. The Taft-based squad would later on tie the score at 11-11 off a spike from Galang. With both squads in a 14-14 deadlock, La Salle went on a strong run to grab a 22-17 advantage, a lead they would never relinquish. Dy went on to finish the set with cross-court spike, giving DLSU a 1-0 set lead.

In a tightly contested second frame, Ateneo held small leads against their opponents, but were never able to pull away despite the efforts of Jhoana Maraguinot and Valdez. Despite holding a three-point lead, 21-18, the Lady Eagles were unable to stop La Salle from going on a 7-1 scoring run, once again giving up the set despite leading throughout most of the frame.

Cyd Demecillo took over in the opening stages of the third set, scoring on three straight points to catapult the Lady Spikers to an 8-7 lead heading into the set’s first technical timeout. A 9-3 run by the Green-and-White gave them an imposing 17-11 advantage. With ADMU down by seven, 22-15, they were able to cut the deficit to three, 23-20. However, Galang took over and scored the last two points, completing the sweep for DLSU.

The key stat of the game was the number of blocks by both teams, where La Salle held an overwhelming 13-2 advantage. The season’s best scorer Valdez scored 17 points but it took her 39 attempts to get there. Despite committing 22 errors to Ateneo’s 16, the Lady Spikers had 32 excellent receptions to Ateneo’s 29.

The Lady Spikers have a chance to clinch the title in Game 2 of the series, which will be held on Wednesday, April 27, at 4 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena.