Coming off a straight-set 29-27, 25-16, 25-21, victory over the NU Lady Bulldogs, the DLSU Lady Spikers will look to continue their winning ways at the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Volleyball Tournament. La Salle will square off with the AdU Lady Falcons, who are coming off a 25-19, 25-18, 25-13, loss to the ADMU Lady Eagles. Meanwhile, the Lady Spikers currently hold a 3-1 win-loss record. The Green-and-White, Lady Bulldogs, and the Lady Eagles are all currently tied for second place and sit behind the UP Lady Maroons.
In its victory over the Lady Bulldogs, La Salle was led by sophomores Tin Tiamzon and Oduke Ogunsanya. Despite committing a handful of errors throughout the game, Tiamzon managed to lead the team and finish with 17 points on 12 attacks and three blocks. Ogunsanya, on the other hand, led the the Green-and-White defense as she recorded 11 points, five of which came from blocks.
In their loss to ADMU, Jessica Galanza and Fatima Joaquin led the way for the Soaring Falcons with eight and seven points, respectively. AdU struggled on the defensive end as it only came up with four blocks as compared to eight from the Lady Eagles. They were also unable to record a single service ace as the Ateneans went on to finish with seven of their own.
Previous encounter
Both teams previously faced off in the second round of the previous UAAP season. The Lady Spikers cruised past the Lady Falcons to take a 25-13, 25-11, 25-18 victory. Kianna Dy led the way for the team from Taft with 11 points as Ara Galang and Kim Fajardo also finished in double digits, scoring 10 points each. Fajardo also finished with 33 excellent sets and a similar performance from the team captain will be vital once again.
In their defeat to the eventual champions last year, Galanza and May Roque struggled as they were only held to a combined haul of only eight points.
Current form
The Lady Falcons so far have yet to win a set as they have been swept in all four of their outings. Jellie Tempiatura and Chumcee Caole have been the bright spots for AdU in their campaign so far. The prior averages 3.8 digs per set and is currently fourth in the league. The latter on the other hand averages 8.67 sets and is currently ranked fifth.
Meanwhile, two of three victories for the Lasallians were won in straight sets. The lone loss of the Green-and-White so far came at the expense of UP in a 3-0 sweep. La Salle will look to breakdown the AdU defense behind setter Kim Fajardo. The team captain is currently the league’s second best setter behind Lady Eagle Julia Morado and has provided 148 running sets and 127 still sets for the Green-and-White. It will be vital for the fifth-year veteran to setup the likes of MaJoy Baron, Kianna Dy, and Tiamzon, who are currently part of the league’s top 10 spikers.
The trio, along with Aduke Ogunsanya, will also lead the net defense of DLSU. Ogunsanya is currently second in the tournament in blocks averaging 0.8 per set. Last but not the least, another quality performance from Dawn Macandili will be vital. The Libero has consistently led the Green-and-White’s floor defense and currently has a receiving efficiency of 42 percent and averages 5.46 digs per set.
Despite AdU entering tomorrow’s matchup winless, the Lady Spikers cannot afford to let their guard down or relax. The Lady Falcons will be hungrier than ever and will look to get its season going with an upset over the defending champions. Both teams will face off tomorrow at 4 pm at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
