The DLSU Lady Spikers were unable to pull off an upset over the NU Lady Bulldogs, falling in four sets against the defending champions, 17-25, 21-25, 25-13, 17-24, in Game One of the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament Finals earlier tonight, May 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Team Captain Angel Canino kept the Green-and-White afloat in their valiant effort, putting up 22 points off 21 attacks. Meanwhile, Shevana Laput once again backed her up with 16 points.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Vange Alinsug led the team in their Game One win, tallying 21 points all from attacks. Bella Belen followed her closely with 19 points from 17 attacks and two aces.
First set jitters
In their third finals matchup in four years, the Lady Spikers and Lady Bulldogs went full throttle right out of the gates, giving no space for their opponent early on. An early scoring spark by Alinsug gave the Lasallian defense problems. However, the Green-and-White were adamant on keeping the scoreline tight, matching Alinsug’s points with Canino’s wing attacks, while Laput and Alleiah Malaluan backed up their captain with off-the-block hits, 8-7. Despite their early grit, the Lasallians were unable to sustain the lead after the first technical timeout as they fell prey to an awakened Belen, who gave the Lady Bulldogs the lead, forcing DLSU to call a timeout, 12-9.
La Salle was still unable to solve NU’s attacks after the timeout as the gray shirts continued to find gaps in DLSU’s floor defense with their attack points, 16-12. Even with a technical timeout and another break called by DLSU Head Coach Ramil de Jesus, the Lady Bulldogs continued with their fluid offensive play to maintain a comfortable lead, 22-14. Malaluan’s and Amie Provido’s hits gave La Salle hope late in the first set, but NU’s attacks were too much for La Salle to handle as the defending champions took the first set from an Alexa Mata down-the-line hit, 25-17.
Losing grip
After taking a heavy blow in the first set, the Lady Spikers were determined to claim a set of their own. With NU drawing first blood, La Salle quickly took action with a scoring blitz made up of a Malaluan attack and Laput’s back-to-back points from a drop and a hammer, 3-1. Provido made her presence known with a service ace, slowly building up a lead for the Green-and-White, 5-2. With the Taft-based squad keeping distance, an attack from Malaluan sent the match into a short break, 8-5. However, NU took back the lead moments after getting back into the game after a 4-0 run, capped off with an unexpected push from Belen, 10-9. The two teams went into a seesaw action, with a fired-up Canino reigniting the Lady Spikers through two sharp daggers and a commanding block, 13-11. However, DLSU’s lead was quickly snapped by the Lady Bulldogs, but Laput refused to let their team lag behind and responded with a loaded attack to bring it back to even footing, 15-all.
A costly error forced Head Coach de Jesus to call a timeout to allow the Lady Spikers to regroup, but this was not enough to break NU’s momentum as the defending champions lodged an uncontested 5-0 run, 22-16. Despite going from push-and-pull to facing a huge lead, La Salle refused to let go of their chance of claiming a set win in the Finals after two consecutive points from a precise Canino strike and another ace from Provido, 24-21. However, the Lady Bulldogs showcased their championship poise and finally put an end to the excruciating second set with a super hit from Alyssa Solomon, 25-21.
Fighting back
With Game One on the line, the Lady Spikers took set three in convincing fashion, led by Team Captain Canino’s 10 points in the set. La Salle unleashed an early 4-0 run from their confident play, forcing NU to burn their timeout early. The Lady Bulldogs were able to halt the Lady Spikers’ momentum for a while, but Provido’s strong hits and Malaluan’s lob gave DLSU the lead at the first technical timeout, 8-6. La Salle kept their lead as they rallied behind Canino on the wing to build a six-point advantage, forcing NU to use their last timeout in the set, 13-7.
Tolentino continued to find Canino’s hot hand, which proved to be a masterful decision as the Lady Spikers extended their lead to 12, 22-10. With a comfortable cushion, Shane Reterta subbed in for the former rookie-MVP. La Salle grabbed the third set after a series of service errors by the Lady Bulldogs, giving them a boost to launch a comeback, 25-13.
Momentum lost
Pumped up from a precious blowout set win, the DLSU Lady Spikers kept their hopes of forcing a fifth set alive. Nevertheless, the Lady Bulldogs were just as eager to put an end to the match, as Belen registered quick points to open the set, 2-1. After a knotted opening to the fourth set of the game, the defending champions pulled away by repeatedly penetrating La Salle’s faltering defense to go straight into the first technical timeout. The Lady Bulldogs mounted a 5-1 run, with DLSU’s lone score coming from an NU service error, 8-4.
A series of errors plagued both teams after the short interval, with the nerves of the championship stage getting to them. The Taft-based squad grabbed the chance to inch closer in the scores with Canino dropping the ball in after a resounding crosscourt attack, 14-12. She tried to lift the Lady Spikers further with two straight hits that put an end to NU’s mini-scoring run, 17-14. With the Lady Bulldogs threatening to finally cross the finish line, Laput denied a strong attack from Solomon, closing out a nail-biting rally, 19-16. Ultimately, the NU Lady Bulldogs claimed Game One of the Finals after an explosive Alinsug listed two game-sealing strikes, 25-17.
The Lady Spikers fought hard in Game One, with their set-three rally a highlight of their effort. However, the Lady Bulldogs were composed as they quickly made adjustments to find La Salle’s gaps.
Unable to claim the first game of a best-of-three series, the Lady Spikers will head into a do-or-die Game Two match of the Finals with the NU Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, May 14, at 5 pm at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
DLSU 1 – Canino 22, Laput 16, Provido 10, Malaluan 7, Del Castillo 2, Reterta 1, De Leon 0, Rodriguez 0, Reyes 0, Ordiales 0, Soreño 0, Tolentino 0,
NU 3 – Alinsug 21, Belen 19, Solomon 9, Mata 7, Pangilinan 6, Panique 5, Pono 1, Jardio 1, Lamina 1, Toring 0, Bello 0, Maaya 0, Marsh 0, Cepada 0
Set Scores: 17-25, 21-25, 25-13, 17-25
