After a tough midweek loss to the UST Golden Tigresses, the DLSU Lady Spikers saw redemption as they emerged victorious in a four-set matchup against the UP Fighting Maroons, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17, improving their UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament standing to 2-2 earlier today, March 2, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Team Captain Angel Canino led the charge with another superstar performance of 24 points from 20 attacks and four blocks. Shevanna Laput also contributed with a stellar performance of her own, tallying 21 points.
On the other end of the taraflex, Irah Jaboneta chalked up 15 points for the Fighting Maroons. Supporting her were Joan Monares and Nina Ytang as they chipped in 11 points and eight points, respectively.
On the prowl
The Taft-based squad entered the court hungry for redemption, with Amie Provido’s power tip quickly followed by Laput strong-walling Diliman’s towers quickly setting the tone for the Lady Spikers, 2-0. Both sides of the court swiftly adjusted to the game’s tension-filled atmosphere. Monares struck back, forcing a check, which was quickly followed by a block from Ytang to nick two consecutive marks in the Fighting Maroons’ scoreboard, 2-all. Entering the first technical timeout, both sides of the court already went head-to-head as they exchanged several deadlocks, 15-all.
Starving for a one-up, the Lady Spiker strengthened their defensive and offensive strategies to reclaim their winning momentum. Veteran Alleiah Malaluan stepped up, showing the Diliman-based squad her attacking prowess, which triggered a UP timeout, 18-16. Malaluan and Laput tag-teamed, nicking two consecutive points in for La Salle, pushing the UP squad to scramble, 20-18.
However, a dagger from the Fighting Maroons set off alarm bells for the Green-and-White, calling for a timeout. With their momentum-ending break, the ladies in maroon committed a double violation, which was quickly amended by Ytang, 21-20. As tensions rose, Ytang’s plays were set on fire, blocking Laput as the Lady Spikers scrambled to save the ball. Nevertheless, Team Captain Canino asserted dominance with a monster block against the ladies in maroon, 23-21. On a winning streak, Canino and Laput struck back–leaving no room for doubt–as they ended the first set on a redemptive note, 25-22.
Within margins
Following a competitive first set in which Lady Spikers closed off with consecutive points, they began the second set slow as the team from Diliman gained an early lead with an attack by Monares and errors from DLSU, 4-1. La Salle was able to cut the lead down to one with Canino and Lilay Del Castillo leading the way, which was then followed up with consecutive points ending with a service ace from Laput. Canino later outsmarted the Fighting Maroons to take the lead, 7-6.
DLSU’s momentum was briefly cut short following a service error from Laput and an attack over three blockers from Jaboneta to make it even, 8-all. The Lady Spikers quickly responded with a three-point lead following multiple errors from UP, 14-11. However, the Taft-based squad would slowly lose out on their lead as they faltered on a long rally combined with attack errors from Provido and Laput, coming to another deadlock, 16-all. Both sides would go back and forth with attacks by Malaluan for DLSU against Ytang and Jaboneta for UP. The Fighting Maroons would then capitalize on their blocking as they took the lead over DLSU, 18-17.
Both sides were on a seesaw to close out the set as Canino and Ytang traded attacks to even the scoreboard, though Laput scored a crucial block, 23-22. Kassandra Doering answered with a crosscourt attack, which was quickly followed up by one of Canino’s signature attacks to keep La Salle in the upper hand, 24-23. Yesha Noceja evened the score again with a backrow attack, but consecutive errors from Canino and Malaluan extended UP’s lead this time as their attacks would go outside, giving the set to the Fighting Maroons, 26-24.
Back on track
Rattled by the previous set’s loss, the DLSU Lady Spikers began the third set on unstable grounds as they committed consecutive errors, giving UP a chance for a 4-0 run and triggering a DLSU timeout, 4-0. Laput showed out afterward, pushing the Green-and-White’s tally by two, 4-2. However, service and attacking errors from the ladies in green widened the bleeding to five, 8-3. With the Lady Spikers down low, Team Captain Canino showed out, chipping in two consecutive marks in the tally which was then followed by a Del Castillo tip, bringing the Taft-based squad’s spirit up, 8-6. Del Castillo’s block led to a deadlock, closing the gap and triggering a UP timeout, 10-all.
As the tension on the court rose, gaps in the Diliman-based squad’s plays were magnified, giving the Taft-based squad a one-up against the Fighting Maroons, 17-14. Jaboneta, unmoved by pressure, produced a quick attack in hopes of starting momentum for the Fighting Maroons, 17-15. However, Canino and Jyne Soreño swiftly answered, giving two marks for the team’s tally and pushing another UP timeout, 20-15. Despite the UP’s efforts to stop the bleeding, the Green-and-White was on a roll, raining down consecutive attacks against the ladies in maroon. Weighed by their impending loss, the Fighting Maroons surrendered against Team Captain Canino’s back row attack, 25-18.
No room for error
The Lady Spikers capitalized on their redemptive momentum from the third set as they began the set strong with two attacks from Jules Tolentino and Shane Reterta after UP opened the set with a service error, 3-0. DLSU’s early momentum would then be halted following a service error from Tolentino and an attack error by Reterta, 3-all. Both sides would exchange points with Canino leading the way for the Lady Spikers and contributions from Monares, Jaboneta, and a service ace by Bienne Bansil leveraging the Fighting Maroons. Yet the Taft-based side led the set before the technical timeout, 8-7.
The Fighting Maroons, after going back-and-forth on the scoreboard, would take the lead after capitalizing on errors committed by the Lady Spikers, 11-9. The attack trade-off continued, yet Laput scored three consecutive points, including a block, for La Salle. The Lady Spikers would then gain a two-point lead following a crosscourt attack by Laput and Del Castillo, forcing UP to call a timeout. La Salle’s momentum would continue as Del Castillo, Laput, and Reterta tallied points to increase the lead to five, 20-15. Drama would later ensue as DLSU Head Coach Ramil de Jesus was given a yellow card for delaying. This did affect La Salle’s momentum, however, as the Green-and-White closed the matchup with points from Del Castillo, Reterta, and Provido, before Laput sealed the deal with her spike, 25-17.
After a bounce-back win against UP, DLSU Coach Noel Orcullo noted how there is no weak team in the UAAP after being asked about Coach Ramil’s first standoff with Coach Benson Bocboc that made them see the Fighting Maroons as challengers, “Actually, wala namang mahinang team ngayon sa UAAP. Lahat talaga ma–cha-challenge ka na makalaban sila. Mataas na ‘yung level ng ginagawa ng bawat team kaya hindi mo pwedeng sabihin [na] mahina ‘yung kalaban. Kaya kailangan talaga i-challenge mo rin ‘yung sarili mo para ma-overcome mo kung ano man ‘yung ibibigay na laban sayo.”
(Actually, there are no weak teams in the UAAP today. Everyone will really challenge you. The level that every team is on is really high and you can’t really say that your opponent is weak. That is why you really have to overcome what your opponent throws at you.)
When asked about their measures to stop their rollercoaster start, Team Captain Canino shared their inconsistencies within the team, citing both rookies and seniors are taking their time to adjust to each other: “Hindi lang talaga consistent ‘yung ngayon kasi syempre bago lang din lahat. Bago lang din yung setter—madami kaming mga bata na kasama. So, lahat talaga kailangan mag-adjust; hindi lang ‘yung mga bata, hindi lang kaming mga seniors.”
(We really are not consistent right now since, of course, everyone is new. We have a new setter—we have rookies within the team. So, everyone of us really needs to adjust; not just the rookies, not just the seniors.)
Looking to extend their winning run, the Taft-based squad prepares to sharpen their arrows for their battle against the UE Lady Warriors on Saturday, March 8, at 1 pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Canino 24, Laput 21, Del Castillo 11, Malaluan 7, Provido 6, Retereta 6, Soreño 3, Tolentino 1, Rodriguez 0, De Leon 0, Ordiales 0, Raagas 0, Reyes 0, Santos 0
UP 1 – Jaboneta 15, Monares 11, Olango 8, Ytang 8, Bansil 8, Doering 4, Noceja 2, Manguilimotan 1, Celis 1, Cabasac 1, Doering 1, De Leon 1, Capistrano 0, Ysulan 0, Lauchengco 0
Set scores – 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17
