The Lyceum of the Philippines University Lady Pirates did just enough to stop the Emilio Aguinaldo College Lady Generals in straight sets, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20, to move to a share of second place, Wednesday afternoon at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Three spikers steered the Pirates with 12 points each, including skipper Cherilyn Sindayen, who fired off 45 percent of her spikes.
Sindayen and Czarina Orros led the high octane offense of the Pirates that finished with 40 attacks, while La Rainne Fabay and Monica Sevilla had two blocks each for the red-shirts.
The Lady Pirates, however, coughed up 31 errors to keep the Generals in the match.
Head coach Emil Lontoc blamed his team’s lack of in-game execution for their sluggish starts in all sets.
He said, “Siguro, kailangan pa naming magstep up. Yung mga ginagawa namin sa ensayo, hindi namin magawa rito. Ang pangit ng set at receive namin. Yung iba hindi makalaro, pero sa ensayo napakagaling.”
Nonetheless, the Lady Pirates’ commitment on defense bore fruit in the end with their fourth win.
Lontoc hopes that his wards will continue to improve as they face contenders in their last three games of the eliminations.
“Yun ang magandang test sa amin. Pag nag-peak kami, laban na talaga. Target namin maka-sweep sa huli kasi dun kami maglalaro ng the best namin,” he ended.
Jaylene Lumbo was the lone Lady General in double figures at 11 points.
The Lady Pirates (5-1) will open this bid when they face the in-form Perpetual Lady Altas (3-2). On the other hand, the winless Lady Generals (0-7) take on the Mapua Lady Cardinals (0-6) on the same day.
The Scores:
LPU (3) – Sindayen 12, Orros 12, Miralles 12, Fabay 10, Sevilla 7, Genova 3, Hongria 0, Calugcugan 0, Carramanza L, Inton L.
EAC (0) – Lumbo 11, Magbanua 6, Tongco 5, Binondo 4, Chan 2, Delos Santos 1, Rasing 1, Yongco 0, Reyes 0, Suarez 0, A. Reyes 0, Medina L, Castillo L.
