The DLSU Lady Spikers yielded the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament Championship in Game Two to now back-to-back champions NU Lady Bulldogs after a three-set loss, 19-25, 18-25, 19-25, earlier tonight, May 14, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
In the losing effort, Angel Canino shined bright as she held on for DLSU with a total of 12 points. Also chipping in were Shevana Laput and Amie Provido who garnered 10 points and seven points, respectively.
On the other side of the taraflex, Libero Shaira Jardio and Outside Spiker Vange Alinsug dominated NU’s proceedings as they both collected the Finals MVP accolade. Jardio constantly contributed to her team’s defense with 21 excellent digs, while Alinsug captured 10 crucial points. On their side was Season 87 MVP Michaela Belen, contributing to the championship effort with a whopping 18 points.
Hounded by the dogs
Hoping to force a decider, the Lady Spikers stepped on the court with renewed energy. However, the defending champions wasted no time in displaying their attacking abilities with a 3-0 opener. The starting setter for the Lady Spikers was senior Jules Tolentino, who gave a perfect ball for Canino’s attack on Zone Three to get the Lasallians going, 3-1. Yet, the Lady Bulldogs continued their dominant outing as Alyssa Solomon made the most of the rotation without a libero to drill in an attack, 6-3. Despite NU being on a roll, Team Captain Canino kept her composure, scoring off the block as La Salle trailed behind by half, 12-6.
Down by such a large margin, Tolentino’s dish to the middle proved to be an effective strategy to catch up as Provido found an empty spot in NU’s iron-clad defense, 16-10. La Salle’s unforced errors, however, began creeping in as they gave away free points from net touches and service errors, 18-12. The Lady Bulldogs entered the 20-point mark with a commanding 4-0 run with the help of Camilia Lamina’s stable setting, positioning the ball to avoid La Salle’s blockers, 23-13. Despite a miscommunication for the second ball, Canino saved a set point with a crosscourt attack. However, Solomon finished the first set in favor of the Bulldogs to crush La Salle’s hopes early on, 25-19.
Bulldog dominance
Despite their best efforts, the Lady Spikers were unable to build any momentum at the beginning of the second set. La Salle’s usual offensive stars, Laput and Canino, could not puncture NU’s mighty wall. DLSU eventually gained a slim two-point lead after a Provido ace was followed by an NU net touch, 5-3. But the Lady Bulldogs remained sharp and picked apart La Salle’s defense, quickly erasing the gap to tie the game, 5-all. The lead switched back and forth up to the first technical timeout which was reached by La Salle following a Laput hit that overpowered the NU backrow, 8-7. Following the short intermission, it was the Lady Bulldogs who returned to their groove, building a strong run to once again stun La Salle similar to the first set. Attacks from Belen proved too much to handle for DLSU’s crumbling floor defense as the Season 87 Best Outside Spiker executed multiple kills to allow the blue jerseys to stretch to a six-point lead, 15-9.
The Lady Bulldogs remained relentless, reaching the second technical timeout and putting together a 4-0 run, 19-11. Though a one-two play by Provido momentarily stopped the NU surge, Belen and Solomon once again launched powerful kills to exploit La Salle’s loose floor defense, 22-14. In complete contrast, NU kept their defensive structure tightly-knit, with room to smoothly pull off combination plays that went unread by the Lady Spikers. Desperation creeped in, and then the Lasallians were able to tally points through Laput and Canino. However, it proved too late as the Lady Bulldogs quickly reached set point with kills from Alinsug and Belen, with a poor serve by Mikole Reyes punctuating the second set for NU, 25-18.
Hopes dashed
With their championship hopes on the brink of collapse, the Lady Spikers displayed the same level of grit as the Bulldogs as they drew the first point in the third set. Hoping to tire out La Salle’s most stable attacker, Alexa Mata targeted Canino on the service line, which ended in an ace, 3-2. Lyka De Leon proved her capabilities as the Best Libero as she was able to dig Belen’s crosscourt attempts. Unfortunately, these saves were not translated to scoring opportunities for the Lady Spikers, as they still continue to trail behind, 6-5. NU slowly began to pull away again; the lack of variation in Reyes’ plays made it easy for NU to read DLSU’s next move, where Belen used the hands of the Taft Towers to score, 9-5. After being constantly blocked by NU’s wall, Canino unleashed a sharp attack that was too much for Jardio to contain, 11-8.
Heeding La Salle’s need for a spark plug, Laput stepped up to the occasion, scoring from the opposite to let the Lady Spikers slowly catch up to the Lady Bulldogs, 15-12. La Salle’s stamina was put to the test as both teams refused to back down in the long rally with great floor defense on either side. Ultimately, it was Solomon’s hit from the opposite that ended the turnovers to extend NU’s lead by five, 18-13. Not backing down for the Lady Spikers this time was Provido, who made the most out of the sets given to her from soft taps to quick attacks to cut the climbing Lady Bulldogs’ lead by five, 20-15. Season 87’s MVP Belen highlighted her athleticism as she switched her approach mid-air from crosscourt to a down-the-line to confuse La Salle’s defenders. Alinsug ended the match after De Leon was unable to contain her attack, awarding the Lady Bulldogs back-to-back crowns, 25-19.
Finals MVPs Jardio and Alinsug stood next-in-line for the Lady Bulldogs as NU’s key players played their final game.
For the Taft-based squad, they ended their valiant yet stellar season with accolades in blocks, receptions, and offense—with four of their players garnering individual awards—proving to be a testament of their skills until the endgame after a hard-fought season.
The Lady Spikers bid farewell to teammates Jyne Soreño, Jessa Ordiales, Alleiah Malaluan, and Tolentino, who ended their UAAP careers as second-place podium finishers. The Green-and-White will return to the drawing board as they seek vengeance and prepare for the next UAAP season.
DLSU 0 – Canino 12, Laput 10, Provido 7, Malaluan 4, Del Castillo 3, Tolentino 1, De Leon 0, Raagas 0, Reyes 0, Reterta 0, Rodriguez 0, Santos 0, Soreno 0
NU 3 – Belen 18, Solomon 13, Alinsug 10, Mata 8, Pangilinan 7, Lamina 1, Bello 0, Jardio 0, Marsh 0, Panique 0, Pono 0,
Set Scores: 19-25, 18-25, 19-25
