The DLSU Lady Spikers emerged victorious against their final foe, the NU Lady Bulldogs, in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Volleyball Tournament after a hard-fought win, 15-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12, earlier tonight, March 16, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Manning the ship for La Salle is Amie Provido, who sparked big time in the fourth set; she clinched 14 points with five kill blocks. Shevana Laput and Angel Canino also scored 20 and 17 points, respectively. Julia Coronel chipped in 22 excellent sets and four blocks to seal the match for DLSU.
In a gutsy effort, Alyssa Solomon and Michaela Belen collectively reached the 20-point benchmark with 41 points. Followed by Evangeline Alinsug’s biting force with 19 markers coming from 18 attacks and a block.
Rough start
With a full-house arena ablaze in cheers, the highly-coveted round ender started with three consecutive errors from the Lady Bulldogs that were served to La Salle on a silver platter and gave them an early three-point advantage, 3-0. However, the Jhocson-based squad quickly recovered with Belen’s down-the-line dagger and Alinsug’s off-the-block bomb. Despite Laput’s off-the-block hit, the navy blue jerseys cemented a 3-0 run courtesy of Solomon’s block-shattering attacks and Erin Pangilinan’s joust to turn the tables, 5-4, prompting Head Coach Ramil De Jesus to call for a timeout.
Domination from the side of NU went on as they delivered diversified attacks from the whole rotation, allowing them to gain sporadic runs. From then on, most of the Lady Spikers’ points came from the scattered errors of their foes alongside occasional explosions from Canino and Laput. Sparked by down-the-line and crosscourt twinners from Alinsug that pushed another timeout from the Taft-based team, a 6-0 run by the Bulldogs off Kaye Bombita and Abe Pono contributions provided the Lady Bulldogs with a 10-point cushion, 23-13. The defending champions attempted to remain calm with Canino’s tight corner shot from a successful challenge. But La Salle’s errors plagued them as Alleiah Malaluan’s miscalculation easily handed their opponents the first set, 25-15.
Jitters shaken
Shaking off a slow start, the Lady Spikers rallied to win the second set. Despite going point-for-point with the Bulldogs early on, Laput’s hustle at the net secured an 8-6 lead for La Salle at the first technical timeout. Canino’s defensive prowess against Solomon further extended their advantage to 11-8. La Salle continued to pull ahead with a strong defensive play by Canino against Solomon and a floating serve by Thea Gagate, extending their lead to four, 12-8.
La Salle surged ahead in the latter stages, shutting down NU’s attacks with a dominant block for a seven-point lead, 21-14, though NU briefly clawed back with a soft tip by Belen and Alinsug. With a steady defense, the Lady Spikers managed to harpoon numerous attacks from the wings, claiming the set, 25-19.
Comeback denied
After an assertive second-set win, the Lady Spikers seemingly returned to their meek ways akin to their set one breakdown. Belen and Sheena Toring drew first blood as they awarded NU with a blitzkrieg three-point advantage. The Lady Bulldogs did not look back as momentum went on their side to show out with an 8-2 run headed by Solomon and Pangilinan’s offensive markers, 11-2.
But the Lady Spikers continued to fight gutsily as Provido finally brought out two unconquerable blocks to boost Canino’s arrows and allow La Salle a 6-2 run of their own to cut the gap to six, 14-8. However, NU’s Solomon and Alinsug became too pesky for the Lady Spikers’ defense as they contributed towards a comfortable nine-point cushion for the Bulldogs, 22-13. Despite a reliable backing from Laput to allow the Lady Spikers a blitzering 4-1 surge, catching up proved to be impossible as Belen’s down-the-line and off-the-block hits denied La Salle a late-set comeback to snatch the third set, 25-18.
Deja vu
The Lady Spikers came out firing in the fourth set, quickly building a commanding 9-0 lead with impressive defensive plays and offensive firepower. The Lady Bulldogs didn’t back down, though, chipping away at the deficit with a 4-1 run fueled by Alinsug’s strong wing attacks, narrowing the gap to 11-4. DLSU continued challenging the defense, their open hitters finding ways to score and pushing the score to 16-8 before the second technical timeout.
Belen manages a tight shot past the Taft Towers, but Provido keeps NU in control with two powerful running sets, widening the lead to 18-10. Malaluan’s misfire hands La Salle a point, but Arah Panique steps up for NU, scoring twice in a row to cut the deficit to 18-13. On her third attempt, Laput rises high to block Panique’s attack, putting NU back down by six, 19-13. A flurry of errors from the National University hands La Salle the set, forcing a decider at 25-19.
Sealing the deal
In the rubber set of the Season 85 Finals rematch, Belen wasted no time in getting the first kill as she immediately contributed a block and down-the-line dagger. But Canino let her presence known as the reigning Rookie-MVP as she retaliates with two bombs of her own, followed by a crucial service ace by Coronel and a costly attack error by Belen to put La Salle in the lead, 4-2. The first half continued on to be a back-and-forth showing as attacks rained from both sides while errors were minimized to bring the set to its fifth deadlock, 7-all.
Down the final stretch, the Lady Spikers clinched a three-point lead after back-to-back hitting errors by NU and a solid hammer courtesy of Gagate, 10-7. Though a strong attack challenged Belen, La Salle’s height advantage with Gagate and Coronel proved too much, and DLSU extended their lead to four, 12-8. Alinsug’s powerful hits became a lifeline for NU, but La Salle’s firing power was no match to the Lady Bulldogs, securing the match in five sets, 15-12.
Coach Noel Orcullo highlighted the importance of resilience despite trailing behind and attributed the win to the team’s loyalty to its tried-and-tested system, “Sinabi namin sa mga bata na hindi magiging madali ang laro, kaya kailangan all-out tayo. ‘Wag tayong bibitaw kahit nakakalamang ‘yung kalaban, basta patuloy lang kayo sa sistemang ginagawa natin.”
(We told the kids that it would not be an easy game, so we needed to go all out. Don’t lose hope even though the opponents are in the lead as long as we continue to trust in our system.)
After the satisfying victory, the Lady Spikers ended Round One keeping a firm hold of the tournament’s second seed as they await their next opponent in Round Two.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Laput 20, Canino 17, Provido 14, Malaluan 12, Gagate 5, Coronel 5, Soreño 1, De Leon 0, Larroza 0, Tolentino 0, Del Castillo 0
NU 2 – Solomon 21, Belen 20, Alinsug 19, Pangilinan 5, Panique 4, Bombita 3, Pono 2, Lamina 2, Denura 1, Jardio 0, Maaya 0
Set Scores – 15-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12
