Despite a strong start, the DLSU Lady Spikers were unable to contain Jule Samonte and the ADMU Lady Spikers as they fell to their archrivals, 12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19, earlier today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Returning from injury, Kim Kianna Dy was a bright spot for La Salle, scoring 15 points on 14 attacks. Michelle Morente and Bea De Leon led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 14 points apiece.
Having lost its previous matchup with ADMU, La Salle sought to set the tone early on. The Lady Spikers went off in the first set, after garnering momentum from their six straight wins prior to the game. Although having sat down in La Salle’s previous game, Dy provided the spark for her team from the get-go. While Dy provided offense, Dawn Macandili anchored DLSU’s floor defense with energy and finished with 33 excellent digs. It was an almost perfect set for the Lady Spikers offensively and defensively.
Leading 14-9, the team from Taft scored 10 straight points behind fluid offense brought about by great team play to get within set point, 24-9. ADMU managed to steal three consecutive points after, but an error by Ponggay Gaston closed the set for La Salle, 25-12.
The Lady Eagles looked slow early on and could not match their opponents’ intensity. That changed, however, once the second set started. ADMU began to show great hustle defensively, both on the floor and at the net. La Salle, on the other side, started to miscommunicate on its offensive sets. Setter Kim Fajardo began going to Desiree Cheng and Tin Tiamzon for scoring, but they were equally met by ADMU’s blockers.
Although it was an equal matchup for majority of the second set, the Lady Eagles began to pull away behind the pesky offense of Morente. La Salle was not able to keep up with ADMU due to its constant errors. In the second set alone, the Lady Spikers committed 11 unforced errors while the latter only gave up five. La Salle failed to contain its rivals’ offense bannered by Morente and gave up the set, 20-25.
In an attempt to regain momentum, the Lady Spikers scored three straight points to open the third set. However, their errors continued to haunt them. With both teams tied at 14-all, consecutive points from Dy, Aduke Ogunsanya, and Cheng began to bring momentum back to their side, but the Lady Eagles retaliated. Samonte found her rhythm, adding to what was an already unstoppable Blue-and-White offense, as the Lady Eagles finished the third set, 25-21.
The Lady Spikers were rattled defensively and it translated to their offense which they were unable to spark anew in the fourth set. Head coach Ramil De Jesus brought in May Luna for Tiamzon, who committed consecutive attacking errors. MaJoy Baron, who finished with 11 points on three blocks, sought to bring her team back, but the Lady Eagles were too much to handle as La Salle dropped the set and match, 25-19.
The Lady Spikers conclude the women’s volleyball elimination round as the second seed with an 11-3 win-loss standing. La Salle will face the third seeded UST Golden Tigresses with a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four on Saturday, April 22, at 4 pm in the same venue.
The scores:
DLSU 85 (1)- Dy 15, Cheng 13, Baron 11, Tiamzon 10, Fajardo 7, Ogunsanya 4, Layug 1
ADMU 87 (3)- Morente 14, De Leon 14, Samonte 10, Tolentino 5, Madayag 3, Morado 2, Gopico 2, Gaston 1
