The DLSU Lady Spikers prevailed over the AdU Lady Falcons in five sets, 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-18,15-4, earlier tonight, April 23, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Shevana Laput was hailed Player of the Game after capturing an impressive 21 points through 16 attack, two blocks, and three aces. Closely supporting her were Angel Canino and Amie Provido, who totalled 22 and 14 points, respectively.
On the other side of the court, Shaina Nitura impressed once again for the Lady Falcons with a whopping 35 points. Also chipping in the Adamsonian effort were Frances Mordi and May Nuique with 14 and eight points, respectively.
Starting off strong
The opening moments of the set began with both squads trading points. Provido opened the scoring for the Lady Spikers with a power touch. Meanwhile, Team Captains Canino and Nitura exchanged points with the former rookie MVP to gain the upper hand. La Salle had an early lead after Nitura failed to receive an attack, 4-3. Frances Mordi answered back with an attack of her own. However, AdU’s service error and an attack from Alleiah Malaluan gave La Salle a four-point edge heading into the technical timeout, 8-4.
As the match resumed, Mordi contributed consecutive points to halt the Lady Spikers’ momentum and cut Adamson’s deficit down to one. Malaluan answered back with a hit off-the-line, but it was immediately answered with a spike from Eloisa Dote. Laput then started to answer for Nitura’s scoring spree, but errors plagued both squads as La Salle led by three, 13-10. Both sides continued to go back-and-forth, until a series of errors from the Lady Falcons were capped off by Laput’s service ace, giving DLSU a three-point advantage going into the second technical timeout, 16-13.
The Lady Spikers resumed the match with an error as Adamson intensified their defense on Canino. However, Canino made it up with a soft attack followed by a Mordi error, forcing the Lady Falcons to call for a timeout. AdU answered back with consecutive points from Nitura and Nuique as Coach Ramil De Jesus called for a timeout. The Lady Spikers came out of the break determined to close the set, capitalizing on a service error by Mordi with an attack by Laput. AdU eventually faltered from the pressure as the Lady Spikers displayed their blocking prowess to claim the set, 25-19.
Nitura’s spree
La Salle started the second set with a dominant opening. Laput continued to trouble the Lady Falcons with her powerful kills. A Malaluan point off an Adamson block gave La Salle an early advantage, 5-3. Errant play from both sides meant that neither team could build substantial momentum to take control of the set. Upon reaching the first technical timeout, Team Captain Canino pulled off a clever drop point, 8-5. Laput exerted more pressure on the Lady Falcons by executing another backrow attack. Canino followed this up with a strong block on an Adamson attack, 11-6.
Aiming to recover from their early mistakes, Adamson came to life as they upped their blocking game. Nitura saw her effort beat Laput’s block before Jen Villegas exploited DLSU’s defensive structure, reducing the deficit to two, 12-10. While La Salle kept their lead intact, they were unable to completely nullify their opponent’s newfound energy. A Mordi block on Malaluan followed by an attack error by Baby Jyne Soreño tied the set at 15-all.
With the Adamson faithful loudly rallying behind their team, it was the Lady Falcons who stepped ahead of the Lasallians. Multiple efforts by Nitura went unhandled by La Salle, capped off by a kill which found the space in DLSU’s floor defense, 19-18. The impressive rookie then took full control of the set, tallying three points in succession with an on-the-line and two points off Lasallian hands, 23-19. The Lady Spikers succumbed to the pressure shortly afterward, giving away two points through a defensive mishap and a service error by Provido, 25-21.
Back against the wall
Hungry to redeem themselves after dropping the second set, the Lady Spikers opened the scoring with consecutive points from their blocking and Laput’s crosscourt attack. Nitura responded to Provido’s attacks, but Dote’s service error shifted the momentum in favor of the Green-and-White. Despite this, Nitura and Nuique continued to be a problem for La Salle, forcing Canino to answer for the Lady Spikers before the first technical timeout of the third set, 8-6.
Jessa Ordiales came in and made her presence known as DLSU scored consecutive points after Laput’s attack sliced through the blockers, forcing the Lady Falcons to call a timeout. Jules Tolentino and Soreño checked in the game for Laput and Reyes in hopes of shifting the momentum back to DLSU’s side. Both squads traded points in consecutive stints, with the Taft-based squad retaining their lead. A service error by Dote gave La Salle the opening to pull away as Canino and Provido tallied three straight points before the second technical timeout, 16-13.
After the timeout, Nitura still led the charge for Adamson with three points to tie the game at 16-all. Felicity Sagaysay momentarily gave the lead to Adamson. Fortunately, Laput and Malaluan found gaps in the Adamsonian defense to put DLSU ahead, 18-17. Miscommunication among the Lady Spikers, followed by Malaluan’s attack sailing out, allowed Adamson to retake the lead, 21-20. Mordi and Nitura once again proved to be the game changers, scoring consecutive points to increase the gap to three and forcing the Lady Spikers to call for a timeout, 23-20. An antenna touch by the Lady Spikers put AdU on match point, but Laput would answer with an offspeed and crosscourt. After a timeout by AdU, Nitura hit a backrow attack that gave her team the third set, 25-22.
Coming back
Now in a desperate position, La Salle started the fourth set poorly. A block on Laput, followed by good net presence from Villegas off a free ball, gave the Lady Falcons an early three-point advantage, 5-2. Yet, DLSU quickly retaliated after a Laput ace. Canino smartly read Adamson’s attack and put out a block to tie the game at 6-all. However, the lead was once again snatched back by the Lady Falcons through an on-the-line crosscourt from Nitura and two points from Mordi, 9-6. Continuing the see-saw nature of the set, La Salle responded through two points by Canino with an Adamson error in between, 9-all. The Green-and-White built a crucial 5-0 run through a Lilay Del Castillo drop point and an emphatic Shane Reterta block. In the process, La Salle also began to expose the cracks in the Lady Falcon’s floor defense, 11-9.
Offensive mishaps by Mordi and Nitura gifted DLSU a four-point advantage, 14-10. Smelling blood, Provido showcased her volleyball IQ with a running drop shot that beat her opponent’s floor defense before a strong block on Mordi, 16-13. Looking to keep their momentum intact, Reterta notched two crucial points with a wing attack and service ace, 18-13. Errors from the Lady Falcons also added to the Lady Spikers’ lead. Laput continued her fine form as she pulled off a block on Nitura before scoring off her opponent’s hands on two occasions, 22-15. Del Castillo then won her duel at the net. Coupled with Tolentino’s defiant block, La Salle managed to even the playing field once again and force a fifth set, 25-18.
Making a statement
In the fifth set, the Lady Spikers were desperate to mount a comeback. La Salle took advantage of an AdU error as Reterta sliced through the blockers. Her side extended the lead to three through their blocking prowess, forcing Adamson to call for a timeout, 5-2. Nitura provided a long attack, but Dote would once again suffer from her service woes as the momentum crucially shifted to the Lady Spikers. DLSU capitalized on this with an attack from Reterta. The Lasallian crowd roared after the Taft-based squad denied an attack by Nitura at the technical timeout, 8-3.
After the timeout, the Lady Spikers were determined to shut down more attacks from Nitura. They only allowed one more point to be scored by Adamson before dominating the rest of the set. The Lady Spikers scored four consecutive points, beginning with a long attack by Laput and Del Castillo, to close the set and the match with a commanding 11-point lead, 15-4.
Following the lengthy match between the two teams, DLSU Lady Spikers Assistant Coach Noel Orcullo praised the team’s performance and ability to contain Nitura toward the latter sets, “Ginusto ng mga bata. Gumalaw sila, kaya ayon, natigilan rin si Nitura kasi nabasa nila kung ano ginagawa.”
(The team desired it. They moved well, which is why Nitura was stopped, because they read her and what she was doing).
Team Captain Canino echoed similar sentiments while acknowledging the opposition’s rookie, “Sobrang galing ng batang ‘yan, wala akong masabi. At the same time, kasama rin naman sa preparation namin kung paano i-stop si Nitura. Kasi knowing Adamson, ‘yung main killer nila is Nitura, so mabuti gumana sa fourth set ‘tsaka sa fifth set ‘yung blockings namin sa Adamson.”
(That kid is so talented that I can’t say anything else. At the same time, it was part of our preparations on how to stop Nitura. Knowing Adamson, their main killer is Nitura, so it’s a good thing that our blocking system on Adamson worked in the fourth and fifth set).
The Lady Spikers look to end the Elimination Round on a high note against the FEU Lady Tamaraws as they push their bid for a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four this Saturday, April 26, at 3 pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
DLSU 3: Canino 22, Laput 21, Provido 14, Reterta 9, Malaluan 9, Del Castillo 4, Soreno 1, Tolentino 1, Ordiales 1
AdU 2: Nitura 35, Mordi 14, Nuique 8, Dote 6, Villegas 6, Juegos 2, Sagaysay 1
Set Scores: 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-4
