UP beats DLSU in 3 sets FIRST WIN

Unbeaten UP shares UAAP lead with NU

THE University of the Philippines Lady Maroons stood up against the De La Salle Lady Spikers yesterday in a battle of unbeaten teams, churning out a straight-sets win, 25-22, 25-21 and 25-19, to keep their clean slate in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament intact.

Playing with more sureness throughout the contest, the Diliman volleybelles got the better of the defending champions to claim the win and joint University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) leadership with the National University Lady Bulldogs at 3-0.

UP came out strong from the starting gates to build a sizable cushion in the opening half of the first set.

But La Salle would claw back, narrowing its deficit, 17-16, only for UP to rack up three straight points to create some distance anew and never relinquish the lead en route to the win in the first set.

In the second set it was the Lady Spikers’ turn to go on a fast start. They, however, would ran through a rough patch midway and allow the Lady Maroons to catch up.

La Salle tried to survive the UP onslaught but could not do so, dropping the set anew.

Just like in the second set, the Lady Spikers came out aggressive and built an early lead until the Lady Maroons heat up and charged back.

UP overtook La Salle, 16-15, before extending it further to 20-17 from which the green-andwhite could not recover from.

Senior Nicole Tiamzon had 16 points for UP, all from spikes, while Diana Carlos had 11. THE UP Lady Maroons soared over the De La Salle Lady Spikers in straight sets yesterday to stay unbeaten in three games.

Setter Arielle Estranero had 27 excellent sets.

Majoy Baron and Kim Dy had nine points each for La Salle, which next plays on Sunday against NU.

“We really prepared hard for this game. Each player, especially the veterans, studied the game of La Salle and sure enough it paid off,” said coach Raid Ricafort, speaking on behalf of head coach Jerry Yee, after the game.

Meanwhile, in the first game, the University of Santo Tomas Tigresses notched their first win of the season, preying on the University of the East Lady Warriors in straight sets, 25-9, 25-22 and 25-23.

Anchored on a balanced attack, UST finally broke through the win column after two futile tries.

Rhea Meneses led the Tigresses in scoring with 13 points, three off service aces.

CC Rondina and EJ Laure each had 12 points.

Setter Alina Bicar had 26 excellent sets for UST.

UE, for its part, was led by Jasmine Alcayde and Mary Anne Mendrez with six points each.

“We are happy with this win. But as you can see UE battled us in the second and third sets. It’s a credit to UE’s improvement but also highlights our tendency to lax during games,” UST coach Kungfu Reyes said after the game.

“It’s not so much about skills as our players have it but more of taking charge and seizing the moment. We are still finding a leader in this team. Someone who can consistently lead when the challenge is raised,” Mr. Reyes said.

UST ( 1- 2) next faces UP on Sunday while UE ( 0- 3) plays the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws (1-2) on Saturday.