Lady Spikers take down UE with dominant performance
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers (4–1) put on a dominant performance to take down the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors (1–4), in a sweep, 25–21, 25–18, 25–10, earlier today at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
Angel Canino was crowned the Player of the Game (POG) after scoring 17 points from 16 attacks and one block that aided the team’s victory.
The match opened in favor of UE after an attack error from Alleiah Malaluan, but Shevana Laput quickly answered back with an attack of her own from the back row, 1-all. The succeeding sequences of the game were a back-and-forth of attacks as both teams countered each other in hopes of getting ahead. Riza Nogales, however, struck at the perfect opportunity after spotting an empty Zone 1 in the Green side which tied the score once again. An over-receive opened an attack window for Setter-Captain Julia Coronel which secured a point for the Lady Spikers, 6–4. Casiey Dongallo caught wind of how to get through a Taft block which she used to her advantage until Amie Provido denied her access and garnered a point. From there, UE struggled to get past the Lady Spikers’ defense but also made up for it with a well-covered floor defense that challenged the latter. Then, Maicah Larroza flew for an off-the-block attack from the opposite side to place the score at 15–9. The first set proved to be a struggle for the Green and White as miscommunication plagued the team. Although the Lady Warriors’ defense was able to withstand the attacks of DLSU, it was inconsistent. La Salle was soon able to adjust their attacks as they spotted holes in UE’s defense and aimed their attacks there. Unforced errors, however, got the best of the Lady Spikers for a while before Angel Canino sealed the first set with a down-the-line attack, 25–21.
The second frame fell in favor of La Salle when Jyne Soreño scored with a cross-court spike followed by a regalo attack by Malaluan, 2–0. A service error from Julyana Tolentino however gave UE their first point of the set. From there, Soreño continued to make her presence known in the court with consecutive attacks down the net to spikes through the block, bringing the score to 8–3, in favor of DLSU. An over-receive positioned perfectly at the net was an opportunity that Tolentino did not miss to push down to the center, an open and unmanned position in UE’s court, 11–7. Following this, miscommunication began to occur to both teams, hindering their score-bearing attacks and converting them to errors. Then came the Canino-KC Cepada tango with both players scoring consecutive points to push their teams closer to victory. A successful floor-touch challenge from the Green and White cut UE’s momentum short as Canino’s back-to-back cross-court attacks set the score at 19–13. Unforced errors once again plagued the Lady Spikers as 11 errors delayed their claim of the set. Multiple attack errors from the Lady Warriors soon gave DLSU the set point. Following this, a Thea Gagate single block capped the second set, 25–18, showcasing La Salle’s dominant performance on defense.
After two sets of satisfactory plays and strategies, it was in the third and final set when the Lady Spikers found their rhythm and exuded the winning mentality. A Malaluan spike off the block was the catalyst to a La Salle 2–0 run by the Canino, Gagate, and Laput, scoring from a combination of offense and defense. Dongallo cut this streak short, as she placed a sharp attack to an unmanned spot in DLSU’s floor defense, 7–3. Thanks to a free ball from the Lady Warriors, a point was secured by the Coronel-Provido chemistry as the latter scored from the middle to widen the point gap to 12–4. A signature Coronel one-hand drop ball then gave the Lady Spikers a 10-point cushion, 16–6. From there, La Salle held the momentum as they scored consecutive points to ensure a wide separation between them and the Lady Warriors. On the other hand, UE struggled with miscommunication which became one of the factors that kept their score at a single digit along with DLSU’s newfound rhythm. Towards the end of the set, La Salle committed unforced errors again that brought up UE’s score to ten but soon brought home the victory after a service error from Shamel Fernandez, 25–10.
Onto their next feat, the Lady Spikers set off as Taft meets Katipunan once more, as they go against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons on Sunday, March 10, 4 PM, at the same venue.
Set Scores: 25–21, 25–18, 25–10
Box Scores:
DLSU 3— Canino 17, Gagate 9, Laput 9, Malaluan 7, Provido 7, Soreño 4, Coronel 3, Larroza 3, Levina 1, Tolentino 1, Del Castillo 0, De Leon (L) 0, Hernandez (L) 0
UE 0— Dongallo 15, Balingit 3, Cepada 3, Nogales 3, Nierva 2, Fernandez 1, Madriaga 1, Cañete 0, Castillo 0, Rojo 0, Villamor 0, Reyes (L) 0, Zeta (L) 0
