Lady Spikers snatch victory against AdU
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers (10–2) snatched a victory against the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons (3–9), 25–17, 25–19, 25–11, 25–22, in the UAAP S86 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, earlier today at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Player of the Game (POG) was awarded to Shevana Laput, garnering 24 points from 22 attacks and two blocks.
The matchup began with a swift attack by Thea Gagate but was quickly tied after an Alleiah Malaluan attack error. Capitalizing on Adamson’s errors, the ladies in Green and White surged ahead, leading 5 — 2. Building on her outstanding performance from the DLSU-NU game, Laput once again found herself on the scoring board with a series of successful attack points. However, Adamson caught up with a string of attacks, tying the score at 7-all. With Julia Coronel serving and Laput’s offense combined with Lyka De Leon’s defense, La Salle regained the lead, reaching 12 — 10. Yet, this lead was narrowed to one as Barbie Jamili’s consecutive attack points propelled the Lady Falcons forward. However, Laput and Amie Provido’s skillful play kept La Salle ahead, with the score at 17 — 15. Unfortunately, at 17 — 19, a collision between Jyne Soreño and De Leon occurred while attempting to receive an attack by Adamson. Jules Tolentino later replaced Soreño on the court. Following a series of attacks by Jamili and errors by Coronel and Laput, La Salle found themselves trailing, and Angge Alcantara eventually sealed the set with a score of 17-25.
The second set started with a service error by Coronel, but Laput ensured the Taft-based squad stayed ahead, aided by a block point from the Malaluan-Provido duo, 4-3. After a series of score changes, La Salle gained the lead entering the first technical timeout (TTO) after consecutive attack errors by the Lady Falcons, with the score at 8 — 6. The teams were tied at 10 after a spike from Nique, but DLSU quickly regained the lead with a team effort from Maicah Larroza and Gagate, bringing the score to 13 — 10. As DLSU dominated the latter part of the set, the lead expanded to four, reaching 16 — 12, courtesy of Laput and Gagate. However, entering the timeout, DLSU’s lead was trimmed to three following an attack and block point by Jen Villegas, 19 — 16. Even then, Laput’s powerful spikes and Gagate’s middle attacks propelled the Lady Spikers to set point. Gagate eventually sealed the set with a middle attack, closing it out at 25 — 19.
The third set began with a backrow attack by Laput, followed by a down-the-line attack by Malaluan, and a service ace from Coronel, putting DLSU ahead 3 — 0. The scoring streak extended to five after an attack error by Adamson and another attack by Malaluan, leading to a timeout. Malaluan dominated the early stages of the set, with a series of attacks and service ace that gave La Salle a commanding seven-point lead, 8 — 1. Despite the Taft-based squad’s offensive dominance, Adamson remained resilient, narrowing La Salle’s lead to six points, 12 — 6. Following this, Adamson’s attack errors and Gagate’s middle attacks once again propelled La Salle into the lead, and later further widening the gap to 20 — 9. Gagate’s blocking became increasingly evident in the latter part of the set, complemented by Larroza’s combination play, bringing DLSU to set point. From there, Laput eventually finished the set with a targeted attack at Zone 6, securing a 25 — 11 set win.
The final set unfolded with a commanding block point by Larroza and a subsequent service error by Coronel. Both teams exchanged attack points before a combination of an attack error and a block point by Coronel gave DLSU the lead once again, 7 — 5. An Ayesha Juegos service error led to the first technical timeout with DLSU ahead 8 — 6. Laput then made her presence felt on the scoreboard once again with a series of spikes, capitalizing on Adamson's errors to extend DLSU’s lead to 13 — 11. Following a service error by Malaluan, Adamson managed to narrow the gap to two, but Laput’s spike extended La Salle’s advantage to 18 — 15. Despite Adamson’s efforts, Laput’s attacks and Provido’s quick hits maintained DLSU’s lead, 22 — 18, just before another timeout. However, a 3 — 0 run by AdU reduced the gap to one point, but as Laput secured an attack point and an unforced error from Jamili, La Salle soon reached match point, 24 — 21. Malaluan then made sure to seal the match with a down-the-line hit, 25–22, concluding the match with a 3–1 victory for the Lady Spikers.
Watch and support the DLSU Lady Spikers as they battle it out against their arch-rivals, the Ateneo de Manila University (Ateneo) Lady Eagles (4–8) on April 21, 4 PM, at the same venue.
Set Scores: 17–25, 25–19, 25–11, 25–22
Box Scores:
DLSU 3 — Laput 24, Gagate 12, Malaluan 8, Provido 8, Coronel 5, Larroza 5, Soreño 1, Tolentino 0, De Leon (L) 0, Hernandez (L) 0.
AdU 1— Villegas 16, Jamili 11, Juegos 10, Nuique 9, Lalongisip 6, Alcantara 2, Adolfo 1, Almonte 0, Bascon 0, Yandoc 0, Verdeflor (L) 0
