Lady Spikers seek ninth straight F-4

Defending champion La Salle guns for its ninth straight Final Four stint today as it battles also-ran University of the East in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tourney at the Filoil Flying V Center.

“We’re taking it one step at a time so we’re not actually giving much thought on the Final Four,” DLSU assistant coach Noel Orcullo said after the Lady Spikers hiked their record to 8-2 with a vengeful 27-25, 25-11, 25-17 win over University of the Philippines.

The Lady Spikers can also join idle Ateneo (9-2) atop the field with a win over the Lady Warriors (1-9).

Meanwhile, fourth-running Santo Tomas (6-4) and No. 6 Far Eastern (5-5) clash in a crucial 4 p.m. encounter that will affect their respective semis bids.

UST coach Kungfu Reyes challenged his wards to wake up after dropping a set to lowly Adamson in their 25-12, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19 victory.

“Hopefully that serves as a wakeup call. We have to be consistent, otherwise, we might slip,” he said. “That game showed that we give half-hearted effort, we’d get just half the result. They should go all-out everytime since we’re already in the second round. This could be a turning point because we, FEU, UP and NU are after the same thing.”

FEU mentor Shaq delos Santos said the Lady Tamaraws should play with sense of urgency.

“We’re in a precarious position so we have to make our move now,” said Delos Santos, whose squad is coming off a heartbreaking 20-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 8-15 loss to Ateneo last Sunday.

In the men’s division, UP (5-5) and UST (4-6) play in an important match-up for the No. 4 slot at 10 a.m. right after the clash between NU (9-1) and De La Salle (4-6) at 8 a.m.