The DLSU Lady Spikers remain undefeated in the second round with a dominant 25-21, 25-9, 25-18 sweep of the surging UST Tigresses at the San Juan Arena.
Dissatisfied with his team’s four-set win over NU, coach Ramil de Jesus whipped his girls into shape and showcased a masterful defensive display against the Tigresses, who were outspiking their opponents by an average of 12 during their four-game winning streak. La Salle corralled multiple blockers on UST’s main gunners and tallied seven block kills on 53 attempts. The La Sallians also managed to surrender a miniscule 18 errors to UST’s 28.
The Tigresses matched DLSU’s energy to begin the match, even taking a short-lived four-point lead midway through the set. La Salle’s net defense climbed up another level from there, impeding UST’s open attacks to take a 24-19 lead. A late Thomasian rally forced DLSU coach De Jesus to call a timeout to set up the winning point.
La Salle’s blocking reached astronomical levels in the second set, destroying UST’s attacks. Not even the insertion of UST spark plug Cherry Rondina could shift the momentum to UST’s favor. After leading 11-6, La Salle surrendered just three points from there to handily take the set.
The Lady Spikers dominated the final set of the match yet again, continuously making the right reads on UST’s attacks. La Salle ballooned a 16-13 lead to 21-13. UST’s late run was futile as the Lady Spikers had established their impenetrable blocking.
The La Salle offense was on maximum tilt in the match as they built a 40-25 attack advantage, highlighted by team captain Ara Galang’s 17 points off 15 attacks. Her beach volleyball teammate Cyd Demecillo pitched in 12.
The La Salle defense did its toll on UST attackers as none of the Tigresses scored in double digits. Ria Meneses, Pam Lastimosa, and EJ Laure each had six while Jesse De Leon added five.
With the win, La Salle clinched a top-two spot and a twice-to-beat advantage along with Ateneo while UST still sits at third with a 5-6 record.
UST will face Ateneo in their next game on Feb. 11 at the MoA Arena while the La Sallians have the Lady Warriors on the same day.
The scores:
DLSU – Galang 17, Demecillo 12, Reyes 9, Baron 8, Fajardo 4, Cerveza 4, Cheng 1, Cruz Ci. (L) 0, Macandili (L) 0
UST – Laure 6, Lastimosa 6, Meneses 6, De Leon 5, Tunay 3, Rondina 3, Cortez 1, Verutiao 0, Cabanos 0, Rasmo (L) 0, Dusaran (L) 0
