After absorbing their first loss of the conference last Wednesday, the rejuvenated Adamson University Lady Falcons pounced on the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23, to force a decider for a seat in the PVL Collegiate Conference Finals at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Adamson blew a 16-12 lead in the first set, but made crucial plays down the stretch. Tied at 23, Eli Soyud pushed the Lady Falcons ahead with a block on Isa Molde. Adamson then found Lea Perez on a transition play for a quick hit to cap the frame.
The Lady Falcons then pulled away from a 10-all deadlock in the second frame, scoring eight of the next 11 points thanks to sturdy floor defense. UP tried a late comeback, but Bernadette Flora shut down all their advances.
Another run midway spurt in the third set pushed the Lady Falcons to a sizable lead. Working off UP’s struggles on offense, the Lady Falcons established a 19-13 wall. UP made a last ditch rally, coming within two, 23-21, after a Soyud attack error. But their own attack fault followed by a Perez kill capped the match.
Seeing their undefeated streak erased helped the Lady Falcons reconfigure, said head coach Airess Padda.
“Losing that match helped us more than it harmed us. No matter how many times you tell players that when it comes to semis we’re all back to zero, they’re still gonna have a chip on their shoulder after going undefeated,” shared Padda.
“After that loss, it really showed us what we needed to work on and got us to really focus,” the third-year Lady Falcons tactician added.
Eli Soyud was the lone double-digit scorer in the match, tallying 14 points. Bernadette Flora and Chiara Permentilla added nine markers, apiece.
Isa Molde and Roselyn Rosier led the Lady Maroons with eight points each.
Game Three will be tomorrow at the same venue.
The Scores
AdU (3) – Soyud 14, Flora 9, Permentilla 9, Igao 7, Igao 5, Macaslang 5, Genesis 1, Dacoron 0, Uy 0, Ponce (L)
UP (0) – Molde 8, Rosier 8, Buitre 7, Layug 6, Gannaban 4, Sotomil 2, Estrañero 0, Altomea (L), Bautista (L)
