DLSU BOUNCES BACK
Playing without its top spiker, defending champion De La Salle showed composure and bounced back at the expense of also-ran Adamson via a 17-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-22 win in the second round of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday, April 17, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The last stretch of the eliminations was nothing but challenging for the Lady Spikers sans reigning Rookie of the Year-most Valuable Player Angel Canino, who has been sidelined since after the Holy Week break as she nurses an arm injury.
La Salle managed to improve 10-2 in the standings, now sharing similar records with University of Santo Tomas and National University as their race only gets tighter in the name of the two coveted twice-tobeat advantages available heading into the Final Four.
Without Canino in the rotation, La Salle suffered a four-set loss against the peaking NU side last April 14.
But sophomore opposite spiker Shevana Laput, who has taken over for Canino in the offensive fight, unleashed another strong showing for the Taft-based squad with a seasonhigh 24 points built on 22 attacks and two kill blocks.
Veteran middle blocker Thea Gagate added 12 markers on nine attacks and three blocks to her name, while setter skipper Julia Coronel tallied 19 excellent sets.
As if Canino’s absence was not worrisome enough for the reigning champs at the crucial stage of the tournament, La Salle lost another wing spiker to an apparent injury with Baby Jyne Soreño colliding with a teammate on a dig attempt in the first set, hurting her shoulder in the process.
Amid the distress in the opening set, the Lady Falcons took advantage and picked themselves up from a two-point deficit, 15-17, with a determined 10-0 finishing kick to draw first blood.
“Actually nung first set sobrang tentative ang galaw ng team. Walang gusto mag lead kaya ‘yun and naging resulta. Walang nag-lead so nagiging pangit yung galaw. Parang hindi sila magkakakilala sa loob kasi walang leader. Buti na lang nanalo at nakuha ‘yung second set and so on. A win is a win pa rin talaga kahit masama ‘yung laro,” said La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo.
“Kung sino [available] maglaro or kung sino ang wala wag hanapin. Kung ano man maitutulong ng mga andiyan to play gawin niyo na. Give your all. Dapat step up bawat isa,” he added.
After the initial shock, Soreño went out of the court after being checked up by the team’s medical staff but with a sling on her shoulder.
Adamson, now eliminated from the race, continues to fight for pride and final standings position as it stares at a sorry 3-9 slate.
Jen Villegas paced the Lady Falcons with 16 points, while Ayesha Juegos had 10 markers on the losing end.