Lady Spikers take the Beach Volleyball crown, Green Spikers settle for seventh

UAAP Season 78’s Beach Volleyball Tournament was vital for the DLSU Green Spikers and Lady Spikers as both teams sought to redeem themselves from last season’s disappointing results. The former had not won a single game for two consecutive years, while the latter failed to win the championship in Season 77 after bowing down to the UST Golden Tigresses.

The Lady Spikers, bannered by Ernestine Tiamzon, Cyd Demecillo, and MVP Kim Fajardo, were hailed as this year’s UAAP Beach Volleyball champions after defeating the Ateneo Lady Eagles and FEU Lady Tamaraws in the semifinals and finals, respectively. The Green Spikers, represented by Carlo Sendo, Cris Dumago, and Levin Dimayuga, finished in seventh place, a notch higher than their previous season campaign.

The Green Spikers had an excellent opening game as they defeated the UE Red Warriors in three sets, 21-10, 19-21, 15-13, thus ending their two-year drought. However, they were not able to ride the momentum they gained from their first victory as they lost their matches against FEU and ADMU the following day. Their woes continued as they lost their remaining matchups in the tournament, ending the season with a 1-6 record.

Meanwhile, the Ateneo Blue Eagles went on to win the tournament behind the dominating performance of Marck Espejo and tournament MVP Ysrael Marasigan.

Unlike their male counterparts, the Lady Spikers started the season on a low note as they were immediately handed their first loss of the tournament by the FEU Lady Tamaraws. They attempted to make a comeback by defeating the UP Lady Maroons, but their efforts were shut down by the AdU Lady Falcons in the next match. After that, the Lady Spikers won the rest of their games to earn their place in the semifinals, where they would meet the Ateneo Lady Eagles in a virtual best-of-three series.

Game 1 of the semifinals went to La Salle after they swept ADMU in straight sets, 21-19, 21-16. The Lady Eagles, however, surged back to take Game 2 in a two-set match, 21-16, 24-22. With their season on the line, the two teams gave it their all in a match that stretched to three sets. It was the Lady Spikers who triumphed in the end, 20-22, 21-14, 16-14, to claim their ticket to the finals.

With the momentum gained from their match against Ateneo, the Lady Spikers breezed through the Finals as they defeated the Lady Tamaraws in two games. Game 1 saw a tightly contested three-set match that ended with La Salle on top, 21-17, 16-21, 15-12. La Salle dealt the final blow in Game 2, defeating FEU in straight sets, 21-16, 25-23, to claim the championship title.

In the same way that both teams began and ended their seasons with contrasting results, so too will they enter next season from different perspectives. The Lady Spikers will look to defend their hard-earned title, while the Green Spikers will look to build on the lessons of Season 78 in order to enter the Final Four next season.