The DLSU Lady Spikers avenged their first round defeat to the UP Lady Maroons after taking a 27-25, 25-11, 25-17 victory earlier today at the FilOil Flying V Centre. MaJoy Baron finished with a game-high of 16 points on three blocks and six aces, three of which were delivered consecutively. Tin Tiamzon, Kim Kianna Dy, and Desiree Cheng also added 11 points each for the team from Taft.
Isa Molde and Tots Carlos finished as the leading scorers for the team from Katipunan with 12 and 11 points, respectively. As a result, La Salle now holds an 8-2 win-loss record while UP now holds five wins in 10 games.
Closing out
Both teams looked to dictate the game early on in what was a close-fought first set. La Salle built a slim lead as both teams eventually exchanged scoring runs. UP managed to complete a comeback and tie the score at 17-all and take a one-point lead after an error by Aduke Ogunsanya. Three consecutive DLSU errors proved to be costly as they placed the Lady Maroons within set-point, 24-23. The defending champions showed composure, however, and fought back to eventually seal the set, 27-25.
The second set started off in similar fashion with the Green-and-White building another slim lead. Coming out of the first technical timeout (TTO), La Salle showed no signs of letting down and established a 13-5 lead over UP off a 4-0 scoring run led by Dy. The efforts of Molde were not enough as the team from Katipunan was unable to counter La Salle’s fluid offense. Despite Cheng and Tiamzon committing consecutive DLSU errors, the Lady Maroons were unable to swing momentum in their favor. The Lady Spikers rode on a 9-1 run led by Baron to seal the second set, 25-11.
Composure down the stretch
Despite their two-set deficit, the Lady Maroons continued to put up a fight. However, the Lasallians took an 8-6 lead in the first TTO of the third set as UP sent the ball straight to the net for an error. Behind Macandili’s floor defense, La Salle’s lead continued to balloon as the Lady Maroons eventually committed four consecutive errors. UP sought to ignite another comeback behind a La Salle error and a kill by Carlos. Afterwards, however, Dy immediately responded with a crosscourt kill. Baron would then earn three consecutive aces to give the Green-and-White a 19-12 lead. Ogunsanya would eventually seal the match for DLSU as she managed to deny the UP offense and earn the final point of the game.
La Salle will resume its women’s volleyball campaign versus the UE Lady Warriors on Saturday, March 25, at 2 pm in the same venue, as it will seek to clinch a spot in the Final Four.
“Hindi muna naming iniisip [Final Four], pero talagang tinatarget namin yung top two [positions]. One [game] at a time, tapusin muna naming [itong] eliminations,” said assistant coach Noel Orcullo. (We’re not thinking about the Final Four for the moment although we are targeting a top-two finish. We’re going to take things one game at a time and finish the eliminations first.)
The scores
DLSU 77- Baron 16, Cheng 11, Dy 11, Tiamzon 11, Fajardo 6, Ogunsanya 2, Layug 1
UP 53- Molde 12, Carlos 11, Buitre 7, Bersola 3, Tiamzon 2, Estranero 1
