After an eye-opening five-set loss against the UST Golden Tigresses last weekend, the DLSU Lady Spikers demolished their long-time rivals, the ADMU Blue Eagles, in straight sets, 25-12, 25-22, 25-19, earlier today, March 2, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Leading them to victory was Player of the Game Thea Gagate who scored 15 points off nine attacks, five blocks, and one service ace. This was closely followed by Shevana Laput and Angel Canino, who posted double digits as they chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Despite the loss, Lyann De Guzman was able to contribute double digits for the ADMU Blue Eagles’ scoreboard with 15 points.
Hot start
From the first whistle, La Salle came out hitting. The Lady Spikers made a statement with their barrage of front and back line attacks led by Taft Towers Alleiah Malaluan, Gagate, Laput, and Canino. It was a hot start by the Green-and-White, the complete opposite of their rough outing in last Sunday’s game. Coming out of the first technical timeout holding an 8-4 lead, DLSU continued their onslaught on both ends, scoring from everywhere on the floor despite scramble plays, all while blocking ADMU’s attacks and showcasing excellent receptions. With this, the Taft-based squad forced a second technical timeout with a comfortable eight-point advantage following Malaluan’s rejection, 16-8.
With what seemed to be the largest lead of the afternoon, La Salle showcased consistency and power in the succeeding rallies, further extending the already large lead to 13. The latter part of the opening bout featured the Laput-Gagate duo exchanging points for the Lady Spikers, ending the set at a dominant 25-12.
Dominant at the net
After an impactful opening set, the Green-and-White suffered from unforced errors early into the second set of the match; this was capped off by an off-the-block attack from Ateneo’s De Guzman, giving her team the lead, 4-1. After endless rallies of points, Provido and AC Miner battled it out in the net, both of them showing off their signature running attack hits. Despite ADMU’s built momentum, veteran setter Julia Coronel tied the match with a surprise one-two play heading into the first technical timeout, 8-all.
Coming off the break, La Salle failed to capitalize on their offense at the net as Takako Fujimoto slipped in a service ace at the back of the court to extend ADMU’s lead to three, 11-8. The Lady Spikers continued to trail as Ateneo adjusted their net defense, building a three-man block against Canino to solidify the lead, 15-13. La Salle was unable to minimize their mistakes as they committed another service error heading into the second technical timeout as Ateneo was still up by one, 16-15.
To readjust his defensive lineup, Coach Ramil De Jesus subbed in Maicah Larroza for Canino; this paved the way for Gagate to score with a quick attack from the middle—giving La Salle the advantage, 19-18. Despite De Guzman managing to tie the game at 20-all, Ateneo dropped crucial errors to give the lead back to DLSU, 23-22. To end the set in their favor, the Gagate and Laput Taft tandem shot down the Blue Eagles in the second set, 25-22.
Strong defensive finish
Following a better effort from the Blue Eagles, it was up to the La Salle squad to regroup and avoid the numerous errors committed in the second set. Through Team Captain Coronel’s adjustments with her passes and efficiency with her service, the Green-and-White were able to get a head start following two aces from the starting setter, 4-0. The rest of the team complemented this including libero Lyka de Leon holding it down for DLSU from the backline. The two technical timeouts in the third set were similar to the first, with the Lady Spikers holding on to 8-4 and 16-8 advantages, respectively.
However, as the defending champions were running away with the victory, Ateneo’s spikers stepped their game up and challenged La Salle’s defense at the net. It was Zey Pacia who ignited the Blue Eagles late in the game with three points in seven rallies. Despite her valiant effort, ADMU’s errors, along with Canino and Gagate’s two-way prowess, ultimately sealed the deal for the Taft-based squad for their third win of the season, 25-19. In the final set, La Salle tallied five blocks to Ateneo’s one, yet another showing from DLSU’s famed Taft Tower status.
After the game, Head Coach De Jesus shared his thoughts on the DLSU Lady Spikers’ bounce back win after they lost in a five-set thriller against the UST Golden Tigresses: “Kinausap ko lang sila na kailangan natin matuto sa mga mali natin and kailangan maayos natin sa susunod na game at na-adjust naman mga mistake namin.” This noteworthy win propelled the Green-and-White to have dominant momentum for their remaining games on the first round.
(I just told them that we need to learn from our mistakes and adjust our mistakes in our upcoming games.)
The DLSU Lady Spikers aim to capitalize on this win against their archrivals as they face the UE Lady Warriors this Wednesday, March 6, at 2 pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Gagate 15, Laput 13, Canino 10, Malaluan 8, Coronel 7, Provido 4
ADMU 0 – De Guzman 15, Buena 5, Sulit 5, Miner 5, Pacia 3, Nisperos 2, Fujimoto 1, Tsunashima 1
Set Scores – 25-12, 25-22, 25-19
