Five Lady Spikers finish in double figures as La Salle notches solo second
Now with a record of 8–3, the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers overtook the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses (7–4) for solo second with three game days left in the elimination round, following a four-set, 25–23, 25–17, 22–25, 25–8, victory on Thursday, June 2, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Lady Spikers’ games against UST have always been highly and hotly anticipated. This was no exception, especially with their Round One meeting going down to the wire. Motivated by avenging their heartbreaking loss, where they were then three points away from the match before the Golden Tigresses stole it, the Lady Spikers banked on total team effort to earn their third straight win.
Team captain Mars Alba was hailed as POG after finishing with 25 excellent sets and four excellent digs. She orchestrated DLSU’s scoring as five of her teammates finished with at least 10 points: Leila Cruz with 15, Thea Gagate and Fifi Sharma with 13 apiece, Jolina Dela Cruz with 11, and Alleiah Malaluan with 10.
La Salle started off rather slowly, trailing UST by four, 2–6, as head coach Ramil De Jesus was forced to call his first timeout. His team answered right away as Cruz, Malaluan, and Sharma each contributed to a 6–1 counter by the Lady Spikers to put their team ahead, 8–7, at the first TTO. It was then a seesaw affair between the two second-seeded teams, but La Salle started to create some distance following UST’s unforced errors. They went up by four, 16–12, at the second TTO. Dela Cruz extended it to the widest gap, 20–15, after scoring on a check ball, before UST head coach Kung Fu Reyes burned his final timeout of the set. The Golden Tigresses strung three straight points to inch close. A block on Malaluan tied the set at 22-all, but the rookie hitter stole the point back with a combination play to put La Salle at set point, 24–23. Off a long rally, Eya Laure attempted to send a free ball for the Lady Spikers, but it sailed out, securing the first set for the green shirts.
It was a stronger start of the set for the Lady Spikers in Set 2. Tied at 3-all, Cruz came out firing on all cylinders, hitting down the lines, off-the-block kills, and combination plays to help her squad establish a 9–3 cushion. UST had their own mini-run as they cut it to 9–7. A check ball from Malaluan gave them another five-point lead, 13–8, until the second TTO, 16–11, with a running hit from Dela Cruz. Malaluan and Dela Cruz continued to will DLSU late in the set as they never looked back and took a commanding 2–0 set lead.
Set 3 marked their chance to sweep UST in this game, but similar withSet 1, the Taft-based squad started a bit slowly. Laure led her team with back-to-back combination plays as DLSU could not find their groove. Back-to-back errors by Dela Cruz and Malaluan enabled UST to take the first TTO, 4–8. But the Taft-based squad took it one possession at a time to chip the deficit, and Thea Gagate finally tied the set at 11-all. Gagate and Cruz continued to pound on the España-based squad as La Salle took a 13–11 lead, forcing Reyes to burn a timeout. Cruz capped their huge 12–4 run as they headed into the second TTO with a 16–12 edge. Laure committed an attack error on her DTL and this set up an 18–13 advantage for DLSU, who moved seven points away from taking Set 3. The white shirts, who were coming off their first straight-set loss, did not want to make it back-to-back straight-set losses. Tapia and Jimenez anchored their team as they came back from the dead, erasing La Salle’s lead and eventually building their own 18–21 lead with eight unanswered points. Erika Santos, who was coming off the bench, made up for her errors early in the set as she capped a 4–0 counter run to give DLSU a crucial 22–21 lead. But that proved to be their last point as back-to-back plays involving Dela Cruz and a service ace by Tapia helped UST claim the third set, 25–22.
Despite losing Set 3 after leading halfway through, the Lady Spikers continued to keep their head high as they still had a chance to beat the Golden Tigresses in four sets. The green shirts started off much stronger, opening Set 4 with a 4–0 scoring as Reyes was forced to call an early timeout. Gagate, Cruz, and Malaluan each contributed as DLSU erected an 8–2 lead at the first TTO. Malaluan extended it to seven, 9–2, off a block from Laure, which earned De Jesus’ approval and coveted fist bump. Sharma also had her moments as a running hit from the second-generation UAAP player pushed their lead to eight, 13–5. La Salle’s lead ballooned to 10, 15–5, following an ace from Malaluan. They never looked back as anything they had been doing and anywhere Alba had set the ball would always produce a point for the Lady Spikers.
Cruz and Sharma expressed delight after claiming the win. “Very happy kasi nakatulong ako sa team para makabawi against UST,” said the top scorer of the game. On the other hand, Sharma noted, “Very happy kasi naka-contribute kami and nabawi namin yung mga seniors namin.” This W also marked La Salle’s first win against UST since Round 2 of Season 81. The two teams met in the Final Four, where UST dethroned the then defending champions Lady Spikers.
The DLSU Lady Spikers will face the already eliminated UE Lady Warriors on Saturday, June 4, 4 PM at the same venue.
