Tallying their second loss of the season, the DLSU Lady Spikers took a bite from rivals NU Lady Bulldogs in a one-set wonder, 25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 22-25, killing their hot win streak in Round Two of the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Volleyball Tournament earlier tonight, April 14, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Despite their unfortunate loss, Lady Spiker Shevana Laput dominated the scoreboards with 21 attacks, two excellent digs, and one excellent receive.
On the opponent’s side, Vange Alinsug spearheaded her team with 20 attacks, one block, and 10 excellent digs.
Shaky starters
An Angel Canino-less DLSU stepped on the court again with their game faces on. The opponents were responsible for the first point of the set, which was quickly answered back by a point made by the Lady Spikers, 1-all. The first few minutes of the opening set were steady, with DLSU taking the lead. Notably, Baby Jyne Soreño also wowed the crowd with her sharp crosscourt attack, and the game now at 6-4.
The Lady Bulldogs seemingly got a hold of their momentum, forcing the Lady Spikers to catch up. The latter part of the first set was indeed shaky for the team from Taft, but they never faltered. Laput continued to showcase her prowess by earning important points for her team. With every point earned, the arena was filled with cheers from a sea of green and blue. The scoreboard was stagnant on the opponent’s part during the last few minutes, DLSU driving their way to own the starting set. Laput was the one who concluded this seat-clinching of a set, 25-22.
Slipped at homestretch
The Lady Spikers’ errors proved to be the dent in their armor as they lost hold of the second set in its dying moments. The set started with the Lady Bulldogs retaliating against Thea Gagate’s first-blood block with a fourfold scoring spree capped off by an ace by Sheena Toring to prompt the Taft-based squad to an early timeout, 4-1. However, Laput continued to show out for La Salle reassuringly as she brought out three consecutive bombs off a crosscourt, power tip, and down-the-line to put the set at deadlock, 7-all.
From then on, it became a battle of two goliaths as the majority of the set saw a hot potato of points off crosscourt bombs, down-the-line jaggers, jousts, and off-the-block hits, a commendable lack of errors, and a consistent return of deadlock status until the last stretch at 23-all. However, the green jerseys failed to hold it out until the end as they gave up two free points and eventually set to the Season 86 Silver Medalists after Laput’s bomb went too long and Alleiah Malaluan’s dagger went straight to the net, 25-23.
Losing their aim
The Taft-based squad kept their hopes high to avenge their second-set loss. The scoreboards were stagnant on the side of the Lady Spikers, Gagate securing the first point only after three markers made by the opponent. With the game now at 7-3, a net fault challenge was dropped, which was initially deemed successful, but the point was put on replay. The markers were not looking good, and the tension could be felt throughout the arena, both from the benches and the audience.
Service errors and balls stepping outside the lines were not uncommon during this set, heavily impacting the team’s score and performance. A Malaluan reception error happened, being one of her firsts, shocking many. The versatile team captain, a known setter, surprised the crowd with her attacks. Numerous pesky and faulty plays happened, and the scores were not looking good for the Lady Spikers. Zones were left unmanned, working to the advantage of the opponent. The Team from Taft was once again unsuccessful in reclaiming the set win, lagging behind nine points, 25-16.
No answer to the Alinsug puzzle
The fourth set again tested the Lady Spikers as they struggled with error minimization despite displaying better plays. The Green-and-White wasted no time grasping an immediate lead as a Gagate block and Laput middle bomb, accompanied by two free points, forced the Bulldogs to call for a timeout, 4-0. But the Blue-and-Gold refused to back down as they quickly recovered with three consecutive attack points.
Laput’s valiant efforts were not left unnoticed as two consecutive points off crosscourt, and off-the-block hits to hand La Salle another cushion opportunity, 14-12. But Player of the Game Alinsug continued to be the Achilles’ heel for the Archers as she immediately retaliated with three straight off-the-block kills to turn the tables quickly, 15-14. Similar to the second set, it was a seesaw game of short-lived runs and crucial errors from both sides to repetitively bring the set to a deadlock until the 22-point mark. After a nail-biting exhibition of offensive prowess from the teams, Alinsug had the last laugh as she brought out a dagger to Zone 3 and capitalized on La Salle’s overreception with a shattering putback to end their five-game curse and steal the top-seed of the tournament, 25-22.
After the dismaying loss, the defending champions look to swiftly stand back up on their feet as they aim to replicate their opening-day beatdown of the AdU Lady Falcons in hopes of staying alive in twice-to-beat advantage contention on Wednesday, April 17, at 2 pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
DLSU 1 – Laput 21, Gagate 12, Malaluan 8, Soreño 7, Provido 6, Coronel 3, Tolentino 0, Larroza 0, Del Castillo 0
NU 3 – Alinsug 22, Belen 14, Solomon 13, Pangilinan 7, Toring 5, Panique 3, Lamina 1, Denura 0, Pono 0, Maaya 0, Bombita 0
Set Scores: 25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 22-25
