Coronel draws aces as the Lady Spikers pounce on Letran to top Pool D
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers (3-0) stacked up on aces to pounce on the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) Lady Knights (0-2) in straight sets, 25-13, 25-9, 25-18, to top Pool D of the Shakey’s Super League preliminary round yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
The Lady Spikers asserted dominance with an early Marionne Alba service ace and a Thea Gagate-Fifi Sharma block to start the first set. Furthermore, a Gagate service combined with Leila Cruz’s consecutive attacks brought the score to 7–2. Several Gagate and Marionne Alba combo blocks propelled the Lady Spikers to a comfortable advantage, before coach Noel Orcullo released Julia Coronel to bring the score to 23–12. With a sure set in mind, Lady Spiker Amie Provido struck a service ace, before Coronel took matters into her own hands to take the first set, 25–13.
The second set began with a lengthy rally before the first point was netted by Julyana Tolentino for the Lady Spikers. Star Rookie Angel Canino gave the Lady Spikers the lead, 8–6, breaking a possible tie before the first TTO. Jessa Ordiales catapulted the ball that slightly grazed the net for a service ace that gave her team a 12-point lead, 20–8. It was raining aces from the Lady Spikers, with Canino and Ordiales garnering multiple service aces. After making quick work of the Lady Knights, Julianne Levina caught the opponents off-guard, never letting Letran reach double-digits, 25–9.
A monster block by Gagate commenced the set for La Salle and sparked a 7-0 run, fueled by Coronel’s service aces and bullseye attacks by Cruz, Malaluan, and Gagate before the first TTO. Gagate went all-out across the court in the third set, making drops, swipes, and touches to challenge the Lady Knights’ defense, earning a total of 13 points with 8 attacks and 5 successful blocks. The Lady Spikers left no room for the Lady Knights to gather momentum, striking ace after ace. Fuentes further broke through Letran’s defense, bringing the game to match point, 24–17. To maintain a clean record in their pre-season tournament so far, the Lady Spikers concluded a win with an Alba set to Sharma, 25–18.
Trump card Julia Coronel entered the game during the remainder of the first set and ended up being crowned Player of the Game, scoring 12 points in total with five attacks, a block, and six service aces.
The DLSU Lady Spikers will get some well-deserved break as their next game is yet to be announced on the Shakey’s Super League Facebook page.
