Taking on everything that the University of the Philippines threw at them: a rowdy crowd and aggressive offense, the De La Salle University Lady Spikers still managed to survive the Lady Maroons, 25-21, 25-22, 26-24, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
In each set UP took early leads before La Salle found their groove. The Lady Spikers overcame an early exchange in the first set and burst to the win with a 4-1 run. Similarly, the Lady Maroons took an 18-14 advantage in the second frame, before La Salle slowly climbed back and took the set via a 5-2 rally.
It was in the third set that La Salle showed their mettle. The Lady Spikers had used up both their timeouts by the time the Lady Maroons had a 17-10 lead.
According to La Salle head coach Ramil De Jesus, he urged his squad to show maturity.
“Sabi ko sa kanila na kailangan ipakita namin ‘yung maturity namin sa loob ng court. Maging composed lang kami and mag-react agad sa ginagawa ng UP,” De Jesus recalled.
The Lady Spikers slowly whittled away at UP’s lead , but the Lady Maroons still had first crack at set point, 24-22. Isa Molde gave up an attack error in the following point, setting up La Salle setter Michelle Cobb’s heroics.
The sophomore blasted UP with three straight aces to finish the match. She had seven of La Salle’s 16 aces to go with 32 excellent sets.
“I didn’t think of the pressure na lang. I just thought of how I could help the team win at that crucial point of the match,” thought Cobb.
Tine Tiamzon and Kianna Dy tallied 13 points, apiece to lead the Lady Spikers while Des Cheng added 10 markers.
Diana Carlos powered in 19 points to tow the Lady Maroons while Isa Molde managed 10.
Both squads see action again on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre. DLSU (2-0) takes on FEU (1-1) while UP (1-1) faces Adamson (1-1).
The Scores:
DLSU (3) – Dy 13, Tiamzon 13, Cheng 10, Cobb 10, Baron 9, Layug 0, Saga 0, Macandili (L)
UP (0) – Carlos 19, Molde 10, Ramos 9, Buitre 7, Estrañero 3, Basarte 1, Buitre 1, Dorog 1, Layug 0, Siao (L), Thai (L)
