Green Spikers complete sweep against AdU
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Spikers toppled the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons in a sweep, 25–21, 25–18, 25–20, earlier today, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, San Juan City.
Opening the first set, the Green Spikers were quick to gain the upper hand from opponent errors, placing them already at a three-point lead, 4–1. Joshua Magalaman tried to block Vince Maglinao but the latter used this to his advantage, followed by another strike from Nathaniel Del Pilar, DLSU now at a five-point advantage, 7–2. For a while, John Mark Ronquillo and Jude Aguilar alternated scores, with Ronquillo going for open kills while Aguilar scored off-the-block attacks, 9–6. A service error from the Soaring Falcons gave another point to DLSU and even after Mark Coguimbal redeemed that point, it was the start of another scoring binge for the Green Spikers — Anima with a soft touch, a Kampton strike, and a net violation by Aguilar to top it off, 15–9. This overwhelmed the Soaring Falcons which the Green Spikers took advantage of, but attacks from Francis Casas and Aguilar cut the lead to four, 16–12. With DLSU’s strong defense, Adamson was able to slip through a few times but Maglinao and Billie Anima’s solid blocking soon shut the Falcons down. Dan Gutierrez and Maglinao exchanged kills followed by a long rally to which Noel Kampton finished giving DLSU a five-point advantage, 21–16. The Green Spikers and the Soaring Falcons then alternated scores up to DLSU’s match point, then Maglinao closed out the set with an off-the-block attack, 25–21.
For the 2nd set, the Soaring Falcons were tenser and matched DLSU’s pace. Kampton’s attack failed but he immediately made up for it on his next, followed by Magalaman and Ronquillo exchanging kills. Errors from both teams leveled the score again but Aguilar’s back-to-back service ace put Adamson in the lead for the first time in the game, 4–6. Maglinao’s double-touch error kept AdU’s lead by two points, to which Kampton caught up with his back-to-back kills to level it at 10. This was short-lived as miscommunication became adamant on their court and topped with a service error, AdU was still in the lead, 10–12. Aguilar was denied entry but was still able to strike a kill, 13–15. Consecutive scores from Anima and Maglinao finally caught up with the Falcons to level at 15-all but momentum was cut short by a Ronquillo service error. Maglinao and John Gay exchanged kills and with Anima’s soft touch, resulting in another tie at 17-all. The Green Spikers finally regained the advantage when Casas attacked the ball wide and Jhon Takeda was unable to block Ronquillo’s attacks. Kampton then gave a straight kill forcing the Falcons to call for a TO, 20–17. Consecutive scores from Del Pilar and Ronquillo, and an outside ball from Casas pushed DLSU to set point, to which Ronquillo finished off with a strong kill, 25–18.
Kampton took the third set to his hands, gaining the first point but soon committed a violation, 1-all. Multiple errors from the Falcons right off the bat put DLSU in the lead but Aguilar managed to slip through and score, 4–2. The Green Spikers were determined to see the game through to their favor and went on another scoring spree, 8–2. The Green Spikers and Soaring Falcons exchanged kills up to a consecutive score from AdU at 11–7. Adamson’s next score was from a Von Marata attack error but Del Pilar was quick to support and strike a bullseye, 13–9. Multiple errors by the Green Spikers enabled the Falcons to catch up but Kampton was able to score nonetheless, 15–13. Coming from the second TTO, exchanged rallies, and another Diogenes Poquita and Anima combo allowed La Salle to score, 18–15. Kampton was able to bring another one home but a service error from Anima cut this short. Ben Phillips entered late into the game but he made his presence known with a powerful attack, 21–17. The Soaring Falcons got another attack through but an error of their own kept DLSU’s lead, 22–18. Maglinao made an error himself but Ronquillo couldn’t be stopped to drive another attack. Marc Paulino attempted to prevent the Green Spikers their final point but Maglinao finished the game with a cross-court kill, 25–20.
Kampton was named Player of the Game with 14 attacks and five excellent digs.
The DLSU Green Spikers (4–2) will aim to end Round 1 with a W against the National University (NU) Bulldogs (6–0) on March 22, 4 PM at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
Box Scores:
DLSU 75 — Kampton 15, Ronquillo 14, Anima 11, Maglinao 9, Del Pilar 4, Marata 2, Phillips 1, Serrano 0, Poquita 0
AdU 59 — Casas 12, Aguilar 10, Gay 3, Magalaman 3, Paulino 3, Pacquing 2, Coguimbal 2, Gutierrez 1, Novillo 0, Alegre 0, Yboa 0
Set Scores: 25–21, 25–18, 25–20
