Following a drubbing of the ADMU Blue Eagles in their previous UAAP Season 86 match, the DLSU Lady Spikers replicated their dominant display in a battle with the UE Lady Warriors, 25-21, 25-18, 25-10, earlier today, March 6, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Superstar spiker Angel Canino earned Player of the Game honors by leading the Lady Spikers with 17 points, nine excellent digs, and seven excellent receptions. Also holding down the fort were Thea Gagate and Shevana Laput who tallied nine points each.
Despite the loss, UAAP debutant Casiey Dongallo’s performance was a bright spot for UE as she posted 15 points, three blocks, and 10 excellent digs.
Getting into form
Coming from a blowout win in their previous match, the Green-and-White took some time to adjust to their opponents early in the opening set. An attack from Lady Warrior Riza Nogales tied the score at 4-all, which was promptly followed by a timeout from UE Interim Head Coach Obet Vital to make some tactical improvements.
Coming off the UE timeout, the Lady Spikers started to get into rhythm by flaunting their badge as the league leader in blocks, taking a six-point buffer through a Gagate stuffing at the net, 12-6. With Maicah Larroza subbing in, DLSU gained a much-needed boost in energy, as an off-the-block kill from her followed by a Canino crosscourt hammer gave them their largest lead of the set, 16-9.
The Lady Warriors, however, were not ready to give in, shaking off the rust in the final stretch of the set. UE’s tenacious rookie spiker Dongallo showed no signs of folding under the bright light—getting her squad to within one, 19-18. Despite the Lady Warriors inching closer to close the gap, La Salle’s veterans kept their cool, and controlled attacks from the Gagate and Larroza tandem earned them a set-point advantage, 24-21. Finishing the job from the left side of the net was Canino, who ended a long rally by launching a bomb to zone six, 25-21.
Simply superior
The Lady Spikers’ high flying attack continued to work at the start of the second set with two straight kills. The Green-and-White threatened to pull away early, however, numerous mistakes, including service and attacking errors kept the Lady Warriors in striking distance. Baby Jyne Soreño led the initial charge, scoring four points just before the first technical timeout as the Taft-based squad took the lead by five, 8-3.
Last season’s Rookie-MVP Canino took on the mantle of leading the attack, hitting from different areas of the court en route to a second set total of seven markers. On the defensive side, the Lady Spikers’ famed “Taft Towers” identity was evident once again as La Salle continued to stifle UE’s attack with multiple blocks, sometimes on the same play. However, the service errors continued to add up, totaling to seven in the period and hindering the momentum. Due to their dominance in all other aspects of the game such as the attacking and blocking, the Green-and-White were still able to comfortably take the second set, 25-18.
Standing on business
Following an assertive win in the second period, the Lady Spikers dusted their opponents and never looked back. UE had no choice but to take a timeout after a 10-3 DLSU blitz; but this was to no avail as they were later met with an even greater onslaught.
The duo of Amie Provido and Laput seemingly overpowered the Recto-based team, dropping in a barrage of aces and kills that could not be countered. With the score at 19-6 and La Salle’s rookies finding some playing time towards the end of the match, UE’s floor defense failed to recover from its already severely-beaten state. In the end, it was the Lady Warriors who settled their fate, earning themselves a service error that encapsulated their faulty performance during the last set, 25-10.
After being one of the game’s standout players, second-year middle blocker Laput talked about having the right team mindset going into the deciding set after dominating the first two periods. She shared, “Like Coach Ramil said, ‘we have to play with respect,’ so when we came into that third set, we really just played all-out and gave it our all.”
Veteran middle blocker Gagate also emphasized the need to focus further on making up for the errors that they committed in the first two sets, even if they were able to snatch them comfortably.
When asked about their big first round-closing game against the NU Lady Bulldogs, La Salle’s assistant coach, Noel Orcullo, was quick to dismiss the idea of focusing on the said matchup. The seasoned coach firmly explains, “Hindi pa kami [nagfo-focus] sa game na ahead [of the next one]. We need to focus more on UP muna. One game at a time.”
(We are still not focusing on the game ahead of the next one. We need to focus more on UP at the moment. One game at a time.)
The DLSU Lady Spikers will look to build on their supreme showing as they face the UP Fighting Maroons on Sunday, March 10, at 4 pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Canino 17, Laput 9, Gagate 9, Malaluan 7, Provido 7, Soreño 4, Coronel 3, Larroza 3, Tolentino 1, Levina 1, Del Castillo 0
UE 0 – Dongalio 15, Cepada 3, Balingit 3, Nogales 3, Nierva 2, Fernandez 1, Madriaga 1, Villamor 0, Castillo 0, Rojo 0
Set Scores: 25-21, 25-18, 25-10
