First Impressions Last — Lady Spikers make their mark against UST
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers finished their first match of the UAAP Season 85 with a bang against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses, winning in five thrilling sets, 25–20, 16–25, 25–8, 15–25, 16–14, last February 26, at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
Back-to-back errors by Baby Jyne Soreno served UST their first two points — an obvious effect of some initial game jitters. The Tigresses took this to their advantage and kept their offense strong and aggressive, giving them a lead of 0–4. Eya Laure went on a scoring spree and only on their 7th point did Soreno get her redemption by scoring DLSU’S first point, breaking UST’s steady streak. After the first TTO, the Lady Spikers utilized a more aggressive offensive approach but this only resulted in more errors. Super rookie Angel Canino then made her presence known, providing continuous scoring for La Salle, cutting UST’s lead, 6–12. A combination of Canino’s attacks and consecutive blocks from DLSU tied the score at 19-all. DLSU was able to get the upper hand and grab a hold of it as they lead the game by three points at 23–20. Blocks from the Green and White ended the set, 25–20.
At the beginning of the second set, both teams committed errors leading to their first points, 3–3. UST then took an early lead after a Fifi Sharma service error, 7–9. Long rallies were exchanged but an attack from Renren Peñafiel put a stop to it, giving the Tigresses a lead of four points. Another attempt was made by Jolina Dela Cruz to stop the bleeding but Laure made it look too easy to strike the Lady Spikers back down. UST was able to sneak in creative ways to strike making it unpredictable for the Lasallian Team to anticipate their next moves, 12–19. The Growling Tigresses also upped their defense, making it difficult for the Green and White to score. Consecutive attacks from the Tigresses and attack errors from the Taft-based squad, gave the 2nd set to UST, 16–25.
Taking in the heat of the loss of the preceding set, the DLSU Lady Spikers made the first point by Alba from a strong service ace. This intensity carried on, gaining an early 3–0 lead. From there, the Lady Spikers played a steady offense and defense to extend the lead to eight. UST finally scored against DLSU but this was a short moment of joy as DLSU immediately snatched back to their favor, now at 10–2. Peñafiel worked to stack the points slowly but surely, at a steady pace, but the Lady Spiker’s solid gameplay extended their lead to double digits, 18–8. DLSU’s defense set the biggest lead yet with fourteen points at 22–8. Despite this huge gap, the Lady Spikers didn’t show complacency and definitely intimidated the Growling Tigresses’ as they continue to have technical errors. This set resulted in five service aces from DLSU, closing the set 25–8.
And just as the audience thought that this could’ve been the final set, the Growling Tigresses made it known that they weren’t going out without a fight. The fourth set was about the long rallies for each point as both teams had been pushing working. Unfortunately for DLSU, UST’s gameplay had come out more efficient placing them at a lead double of DLSU’s score, 5–10. Amie Provido found a way to break through UST’s defense which was immediately responded to by an attack from Laure. This set highlighted UST’s defense that was on par with DLSU’s, but with a slight miscommunication, the point gave to the Taft Team at 8–13. Several attack errors from Dela Cruz and another Laure attack gave UST a six-point lead. Long rallies resulted in more errors for the Green and White before Canino scored with an off-the-block hit. The combination of Eya Laure, Milena Alessandrini, and Imee Hernandez attacks widened the gap for UST, 13–23. Provido was able to score off a gentle drop for La Salle before a clean strike from Alessandrini finished the set at 15–25.
With both teams having won two sets each, the buildup in the 5th set had the crowd go crazy. In the race to 15 points, DLSU scored the first two. The comebacking Alessandrini made a point for UST but another two were snatched by the Lady Spikers, leading at 4–1. This time, the rallies were quicker with each being more intense than the last. Having great composure, the Lady Spikers were able to secure a three-point lead, 6–3. Both teams got into their best positions yet of the whole match and a net error from DLSU put them at a tie at 6-apeice. Courtesy of Canino’s clean strike and a quick by Sharma, La Salle gained a two-point cushion, 9–7. An attack from Eya Laure tied the game at 10-all. This play made everyone stop breathing and this opening match didn’t feel like like an opening match at all. When the game resumed, Alessandrini committed a net violation, losing a point but redeeming it by striking one too. Then two consecutive points for UST as well which was quickly answered by a Dela Cruz attack once again equalized the score, 13–13. Both teams exchanged long rallies, leading to a deuce of 14–14. Then a costly service error by Milena and an outside attack error by Laure brought La Salle to the getting victory, 16–15.
Box Scores:
DLSU 97 - Canino 18, Dela Cruz 14, Cruz 12, Sharma 6, Gagate 6, Alba 5, Provido 2, Larroza 1, Soreño 1
UST 92 - Laure 19, Alessandrini 10, Jurado 8, Hernandez 7, Peñafiel 6, Torres 4, Mangulabnan 2, Abbu 1
