Coming off a four-set loss to the ADMU Lady Eagles last Sunday, March 5, in the Mall of Asia Arena, the DLSU Lady Spikers will seek to return to their winning ways. La Salle will open its second round of the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Volleyball Tournament versus the FEU Lady Tamaraws. FEU is also coming off a four-set defeat to the UST Golden Tigresses.
DLSU holds a 5-2 win-loss record and is currently in second place in the standings. Meanwhile, the Lady Tamaraws are at 4-3. The latter is currently in a quadruple tie with the Golden Tigresses, UP Lady Maroons, and NU Lady Bulldogs for the third seed. Another loss by the Green-and-White will create a bottleneck in the team standings and further open the race for a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.
First round statistics
After seven games, DLSU has emerged as the number one team in the league in terms of setting and receiving. Veteran setter and team captain Kim Fajardo is statistically the second best setter in the league, with an average of 13.1 sets per set. In terms of receiving, libero Dawn Macandili has been instrumental for the team with an efficiency of 49 percent.
For the Lady Tamaraws, on the other hand, they currently rank second and third in digging and setting, respectively. Libero Ria Duremdes is third in the league in digging with an average of 4.4 digs per set. She sits behind Macandili and UE Lady Warrior Kathleen Arado in the rankings.
FEU’s Maria Cayuna and Kyle Negrito are also ranked in the top 10 in setting the ball and will aim to outplay Fajardo and company.
Previous encounter
La Salle and FEU previously met in the opening weekend of this season, last February 5 in the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Despite the match only lasting three sets, 29-27, 25-22, 25-23, it was no stroll in the park for the Lady Spikers.
The defending champions managed to overcome the efforts of Bernadeth Pons, who finished with a balanced effort of 12 points, 12 excellent receptions and eight excellent digs. MaJoy Baron and Kim Kianna Dy bannered the Lady Spikers with 15 and 11 points, correspondingly.
Getting back to winning ways
Although the Lasallians have the advantage on paper and defeated the Lady Tamaraws in three sets, FEU must not be overlooked. The team from Recto is keen on upsetting the defending champions and also getting back into the win column. Both teams will square off tomorrow, March 8, at 4 pm in the FilOil Flying V Centre.
