The DLSU Lady Spikers pierced an arrow through the hearts of archrivals ADMU Lady Eagles behind the efforts of team captain Desiree Cheng in four sets, 25-14, 25-17, 16-25, 25-19, as they clashed in their opening match at the Mall of Asia Arena earlier today.
Cheng paved the way for the Green-and-White, as she led the team to triumph with 13 points from eight attacks, two kill blocks, and three service aces. Fellow veterans May Luna and Aduke Ogunsanya added to the Lady Spikers cause, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. Up and coming rookie Jolina Dela Cruz made her presence felt on the court as she tallied 11 points. On the other side of the net, Kat Tolentino was the lone player to score in double digits for the Lady Eagles with 16 points on 13 attacks.
Losing key players in the starting unit proved to be a crucial factor to the lead tactician’s game plan. ”Wala silang idea kung sino starter ko, yung position, and ano klase ng set na mangyayari sa game. Sa sunod na gamesiguro maraming manonood eh,” head coach Ramil De Jesus shared.
(They have no idea who my starters are, their positions, and what kind of set will take place in the game. In the next game, a lot of people might watch.)
Dominant start
The Lady Spikers opened their first match of the season with consecutive points through the help of Ogunsanya and Michelle Cobb. Lady Eagles team captain Bea De Leon fought back with a kill block and a spike to match up DLSU. Before the first technical timeout, the teams traded points, with the Taft-based squad leading at the end, 8-6. From there, the Lady Spikers continued to drill harder to push themselves to come out on top in the second technical timeout at 16-11.
The Lady Eagles gave away four points through attack errors in the latter half of the first set. The last two errors given by the Lady Eagles were deemed crucial as it was in the endgame, giving the set up at 25-14. De Leon proved to be the spark the Lady Eagles needed as she was the lone eagle who tallied three points, the most in the first set.
After that uplifting 11-point gap win of the Lady Spikers, it motivated the Lady Eagles to step up their plays and stayed close at the start of the second set until the former snatched the lead from them after four straight points, 12-10, which triggered the Eagles for a time-out. The Lady Eagles were able to close in until 16 but the Green-and-White was able to register a 9-2 run to finally take the second set at 25-17.
Struggling to close out
What seemed to be a straight set win for the Lady Spikers was halted by the Lady Eagles as they showed dominance in the start of the third set. They gave a 3-0 run care of the back-to-back kill blocks of De Leon and Tolentino. Ogunsanya and Dela Cruz tried to answer back with consecutive hits but these were not enough as Tolentino relentlessly attacked them on all angles, giving the Lady Eagles a one point lead, 5-4.
Coming off the first technical timeout, the Lady Spikers gave three consecutive attack errors courtesy of Dela Cruz and Luna, while Cobb tried to stop the bleeding with a drop shot to surprise their archrivals. However, communication seemed to be the problem of the Lady Spikers throughout the third set, giving away 12 errors. The set ended with the Lady Eagles cruising past the Lady Spikers at 16-25.
On the shoot down
After the Lady Eagles blocked the Lady Spikers to take away a staggering straight-set win, Cobb started the fourth set with back-to-back aces and a hit from Cheng. After moving away five points, 9-4, the rival squads traded points until the gap was maintained at three, 16-13. DLSU moved forward to 18 and kept the five-point deficit until match point, 24-19. Cheng stepped at the service line and delivered an ace to officially close the set, and eventually the game.
Unleashing her usual “Lasallian Swag,” the team captain led the Taft-based squad with her aces, attacks, and the two blocks against six-foot-two Tolentino, which made the crowd roar. “Kailangan may magsimula ng sparkpara sumunod sila, kaya lahat kami nabuhayan,” she exclaimed.
(There should be someone to start the spark so everybody will follow and our spirits were uplifted.)
The Lady Spikers will look to continue their winning ways as they face the Adamson Lady Falcons on Saturday, 4 pm, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
