De La Salle University recovered after a second set slip, dominating the next two for the 25-12, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17 win over University of the East for its second straight win in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Saturday.
After giving up the second frame, the Lady Spikers entered the third with much resolve as off-the-bench Jyne Soreño provided the spark to their 13-1 blazing response.
Then in the fourth, La Salle pulled away from a 17-14 count with Alleiah Malaluan, Amie Provido, and Lilay Del Castillo contributing while UE shot itself on the foot with three errors for the four-set triumph after one hour and 57 minutes.
“Hindi naging maganda ‘yung result ng game although we won pero hindi ‘yun ‘yung gusto namin makita sa kanila. ‘Yun nga second set nakuha ng UE, nandoon na kami lamang kami pero nagrelax sila eh, parang hindi nila nirespeto, hinintay na lang nila ang UE kung magkakamali o aayaw na,” said Lady Spikers deputy coach Noel Orcullo.
(“The result of the game wasn’t great—even though we won, that’s not what we wanted to see from them. In the second set, UE took the win. We were already ahead, but they relaxed. It was as if they didn’t respect the opponent and just waited for UE to make mistakes or give up.”)
La Salle raised its record to 3-2, joiningFar Eastern University at third to fourth spots.
Rookie Mikole Reyes tossed 23 excellent sets leading to four Lady Spikers in double digits led by Angel Canino’s 20 points on 14 attacks, three blocks, and three aces she laced with 10 digs and nine receptions.
Soreño and Malaluan chipped in 12 points apiece while Provido had 11. Del Castillo and Shevana Laput also made eight points each while libero Lyka De Leon dazzled with 17 excellent digs and 16 excellent receptions.
The Lady Spikers pummeled the Lady Warriors in two categories, taking a 52-33 advantage in the spiking and 15-6 edge in blocking.
“‘Yung nakita ko po nung nasa labas ako is nawala po ‘yung connection ng bawat isa. Nandoon na po sila pero bakit po bumitaw, nawala po ‘yung respeto po sa kalaban so sa third set, pinanindigan namin na mali ‘yung nagawa namin sa second set so kaya naming bumangon sa third set,” said Soreño, who had nine points in the third set alone.
(“What I saw while I was on the sidelines was that the connection between us disappeared. We were there, but why did we let go? We lost respect for our opponent. So in the third set, we made sure to correct our mistakes from the second set, proving that we could rise again.”)
La Salle will take on traditional rival Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday at the same venue. The Lady Spikers have won their last 14 meetings against the Blue Eagles.