For the first time in nearly a decade, the Adamson University Lady Falcons bested the De La Salle University Lady Spikers, 25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 25-22, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Lady Falcons started the match with a decisive win in the first set, but fell off in the second set to a fiery La Salle side.
Adamson showed their mettled in the third set, rallying back from a 15-11 deficit and taking the set with a 14-3 blitz. The San Marcelino-based squad then rattled off a 12-1 rally to establish an 18-11 in the fourth set. La Salle tried to rally back, coming to within two, 22-24, but the Lady Falcons closed the match thanks to a clutch hit from captain Jema Galanza.
Former Lady Spiker Eli Soyud got the best of her old squad, tallying 18 points to lead the Lady Falcons. Mylene Paat and Joy Dacoron each had 15 markers.
“This week has been a roller coaster for us. It’s been tough coaching them. Today, our goal was just to make the school proud. We didn’t even talk about winning,” said Adamson head coach Air Padda.
“You could see that they just wanted to win. This is huge for us,” she added.
The Lady Falcons gave 10 aces but countered La Salle with their own medicine, tallying 13 blocks to the Lady Spikers’ six.
The Lady Falcons (3-3) end the first round against the winless UE Lady Warriors (0-6) on March 4.
Captain Majoy Baron topped the Lady Spikers with 13 points while Des Cheng added 10.
The Lady Spikers (4-2) take on pernnial rivals Ateneo Lady Eagles (3-2) at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on March 3.
The Scores
AdU (3) – Soyud 18, Dacoron 15, Paat 15, Galanza 10, Permentilla 4, Emnas 1, Uy 0, Ponce (L)
DLSU (1) – Baron 13, Cheng 10, Ogunsanya 9, Tiamzon 9, Dy 8, Luna 4, Layug 3, Cobb 1, Saga 0, Macandili (L)
