The DLSU Green Spikers failed to seek revenge against the UST Growling Tigers, who crushed them in four sets, 22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 22-25, during their Round Two encounter of the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Volleyball Tournament earlier today, March 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Leading the pack of the Tigers was Josh Ybañez, who chipped in 21 points from 15 attacks and six service aces, along with 16 excellent receptions and four digs. Popoy Colinares and Dux Yambao shouldered this performance with 15 points, from 12 spikes and two blocks, and 27 excellent sets, respectively.
Despite the loss, Noel Kampton showcased a career-high 30 points for DLSU, coming from 27 attacks, one block, and two service aces. Playmaker Eco Adajar tallied 24 excellent sets and three points, orchestrating the Lasallian offense. Vince Maglinao manned the floor defense with 16 excellent receptions and contributed offensively with eight points.
Plunging into errors
A string of unforced errors plagued the DLSU Green Spikers’ opening set, allowing the Growling Tigers to capitalize with their fiery serves. Both teams started strong as the set saw seven early deadlocks. With the score tied at 8-all, Maglinao surged past the Thomasian blockers, giving DLSU a narrow one-point advantage, 9-8. This sparked a series of long serves from both sides, culminating in Colinares’ minus-tempo equalizer, 11-all.
UST was able to make a separation following Ybañez’s consecutive aces and Jan Macam’s denial on Rui Ventura, 14-11. Kampton and Joshua Rodriguez’s clever attacks briefly kept DLSU in contention, but Macam’s powerful serves were too much for La Salle to contain, stretching the Tigers’ cushion to seven, 21-14. Though DLSU managed a 6-2 run showering points from the left pin, Ybañez sealed the set with another strong serve, 25-22.
Rise and fall
The second set of the match was a rollercoaster for the Green Spikers. The Green-and-White fought hard to catch the tail of the Growling Tigers, but they ultimately fell short. UST launched an aggressive offense in the opening minutes that quickly put them in the lead, 5-0. An error-accumulating UST gave the Green Spikers a chance to inch closer, but this was not enough to even the footing.
A service error from Macam cut the deficit to three points. Meanwhile, a hammer from Ventura down-the-line, coupled with a rotation and attack error from the opposite side, brought them one step away from equalizing, 10-9. Feeling the pressure, the Growling Tigers once again pulled away and maintained a safe distance throughout the match to stay five points away from the Green Spikers and closer to their second-set win, 20-15.
With the chance for La Salle to claim their first set slipping away, Ventura and Kampton stepped up, hitting back-to-back crosscourt kills to keep DLSU alive, 20-17. However, the Growling Tigers responded with powerful attacks from Colinares and Ybañez, capping off with an ace of the latter, 23-17. Despite being put back in an uneasy position, the Green-and-White closed the gap after errors plagued their opponents. An ace from Del Pilar, followed by a drop from Kampton, brought DLSU within two, 24-22. With backs against the wall and the ball in their favor, there had to be no room for mistakes to extend the set. However, the match ended after a disappointing service error from Ventura, 25-22.
Commanding the ship
After dropping two sets to UST, the Green Spikers dominated the third set. DLSU started hot with a 3-0 run, which was aided by Macam’s back-to-back error, 5-1. The Taft-based squad widened the gap to six courtesy of Kampton’s consecutive spikes, forcing UST to call for time, 10-4. With the activation of the Thomasian middle blockers showcasing their hitting prowess, the Tigers managed to narrow the gap to two, 13-11.
Chris Hernandez, seeing action for the first time, manned the backcourt defense for DLSU, forcing UST to commit attack errors. This favored the Lasallians to clinch a six-point advantage, 19-13, as they were able to put up convincing rallies. Al-Bukharie Sali’s powerful plays on both offense and defense proved a smart plug for the Tigers, but Kampton and Hernandez’s lethal hits pushed the Green Spikers to a 24-16 set-point advantage. Eventually, Adajar finished things off with a clean float serve, 25-16.
So near, yet so far
After preventing the Growling Tigers from sweeping the match, the Green Spikers were ready to force a deciding set. With both teams coming off precious wins, neither was willing to give up. UST opened the set with four unanswered blazing points, 4-0. DLSU cut their run short after an explosive crosscourt attack came from Del Pilar and Kampton, scoring two markers as they switched between hammers and drops, 4-3. The Growling Tigers remained in the lead for the remainder of the match, wanting to close out the game and add another win to their column.
Things started to heat up as the teams reached close vicinity with each other in the middle of the match after Kampton registered back-to-back daggers from multiple attempts and an error on the side of UST, 16-14. Pushing to take the lead, Hernandez logged a killer crosscourt to bring them up. Yet, Jay Dela Noche answered with an attack the Green Spikers could not return, 19-17. Soon, UST was one point away from calling the game after a redeeming off-the-block from Macam. Kampton declined their match point with a thunderous down-the-line crosscourt, 24-22. However, the Green Spikers were unable to break the pattern of losing with just a three-point deficit, losing their third set, 25-22.
In hopes of keeping their Final Four dreams ablaze, the Green Spikers will take on their archrivals ADMU Blue Eagles on Wednesday, April 2, at 9 am at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 1 – Kampton 30, Maglinao 8, Del Pilar 5, Ventura 5, Rodriguez 4, Hernandez 4, Adajar 3, Fortuna 1, Guerrero 0, Poquita 0, De Castro 0
UST 3 – Ybañez 21, Colinares 15, De La Noche 11, Valera 9, Macam 5, Yambao 5, Sali 1, De Vega 0, Alabar 0, Avila 0
Set Scores: 22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 22-25
