The DLSU Lady Spikers fell to the UST Golden Tigresses in straight sets earlier today at the FilOil Flying V Centre, 20-25, 22-25, 17-25. After their fifth game of the season, the Taft-based squad currently shares the third spot in the standings with a 3-2 win-loss record together with UST and FEU.
In the losing effort, Jolina Dela Cruz and Desiree Cheng scored eight and seven points, respectively. The Lady Spikers’ offense were equally distributed by Michelle Cobb and Marionne Alba, although, no one was able to score in double digits. Cherry Rondina spearheaded the Tigresses on both ends of the court with 19 points, 17 on attacks, and two from blocks. Rookie Ejiya Laure also contributed to the team from Espana’s win recording 15 points with 13 from attacks.
Decisive first two sets
In the early portion of the first set, the UST Golden Tigresses capped off an eight-point lead behind a strong spike from Rondina, 11-3. The same attack prompted head coach Ramil De Jesus to burn both his timeouts quickly in an attempt to revamp the Lady Spikers.
In the later run, a block by Aduke Ogunsanya trimmed the lead of UST down to three, 16-13, but it was not enough. Several plays later, the Golden Tigresses hit the 20-point mark via a Marie Galanza service ace. La Salle tried to mount another comeback by going on a 4-0 run to trail by two, 20-18. However, the duo of Rondina and Kecelyn Galdones closed the first set in favor of UST following three straight points, 25-20.
The second set played differently as the majority of the set was close and neither team held a decisive advantage. It was only toward the end of the set did UST escape La Salle due to three consecutive errors committed by the Green-and-White, 25-22.
Downward final set
In the final set, the Lady Spikers started the set strong with a service ace from Alba and a soft tip from Ogunsanya to have an early 3-0 lead. The spark plug of the game was the Golden Tigresses’ Rondina who converted three attacks to give UST a 9-8 edge over DLSU. Cheng, Dela Cruz, and Ogunsanya presented their efforts to keep the game close with two attacks and a block, respectively, to tie the game at 12-all.
Set errors began for the Lady Spikers, as UST began with a 5-0 surge led by Ejiya Laure with two down the line spikes giving the Tigresses a 17-12 advantage. With a team effort from the likes of Pacres, Galanza, and Laure, the Tigresses came away with the victory and finished the final set at 25-17.
Despite losing Milena Alessandrini due to an injury in their previous matchup against the FEU Lady Tamaraws, the Golden Tigresses showed grit and determination as the team poured 41 attack points against the Lady Spikers’ 28. DLSU struggled to take care of the ball as they committed 23 unforced errors while UST incurred just 18 unforced errors.
The last time the Lady Spikers lost in straight sets was back in the year 2017, during their first round encounter with the UP Lady Maroons in UAAP Season 79. Additionally, the last time the Green-and-White faced back-to-back losses in an elimination round was in Season 70. Due to the upset from the game, no interviews were given by the team.
The Lady Spikers will attempt to end their two-game losing slump as they face the UE Lady Warriors on Saturday, March 9, at 2 pm at the same venue.
The scores:
DLSU (59) – Ogunsanya 8, Dela Cruz 8, Ipac 8, Cheng 7, Cobb 3, Luna 3, Instrella 2, Alba 1, Santos 1
UST (75) – Rondina 19, Laure 15, Pacres 8, Galdones 7, Viray 2, Galanza 1
