La Salle clips Ateneo
UST in hard-earned win over Adamson
THE defending University Athletic Association of the Philippines women’s volleyball champions De La Salle Lady Spikers successfully opened their title defense with a four-set victory over rivals Ateneo Lady Eagles, 25-14, 25-17, 16-25 and 25-19, on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Lost a number of key pieces from last year, the Lady Spikers opened things in Season 81 with the same drive and steadiness to book win number one in their four-peat attempt.
Earlier in the day, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses got their season on a winning start by holding off the Adamson Lady Falcons in five sets, 25-21, 25-21, 24-26, 24-26 and 15-6.
The Lady Spikers had it dominant in the opening frame, building an 8-4 lead early and just lording it over to a 25-14 win in the first set.
La Salle kept the pressure on Ateneo to begin the second set but was met by a more firmer counter from the Lady Eagles.
Ateneo was ahead, 8-6, by the first technical timeout.
La Salle though was not to be denied a comeback.
Paced by May Luna, Desiree Cheng and Jolina Dela Cruz, the Lady Spikers would outscore their counterparts the rest of the way, 19-9, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, Kat Tolentino willed the Lady Eagles to a 16-10 lead midway.
La Salle attempted another fight back but Ateneo held tough to secure the set, 25-16, and pull to within 2-1.
Cheng and Luna jolted the Lady Spikers to a strong start in the fourth frame, helping their team to an 8-4 edge early.
Ateneo tried to inch its way back but was kept at bay by La Salle, which held a 16-12 lead entering the homestretch.
The Lady Spikers continued to build on their momentum, stretching their lead to six points, 22-16.
From there La Salle forged ahead to book the victory.
Cheng led La Salle with 13 points followed by Luna and Dela Cruz with 11 each.
Ateneo, meanwhile, was paced Tolentino with 16.
“Ateneo is not an easy opponent. Luckily we just got most of the breaks” said La Salle coach Ramil De Jesus postmatch.
A crowd of 17,166 witnessed the match between La Salle & Ateneo live.
TIGRESSES IN HARD-EARNED WIN
Meanwhile, UST opened its campaign in Season 81 with a win over Adamson in a thrilling five-setter.
The two teams had it tight in the first two sets but UST would find ways to pull away down the stretch to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
In the third frame, the Lady Falcons would start strong, racing to an 8-4 advantage by the first technical timeout.
But the Tigresses would regroup, capitalizing on a number of unforced errors by the Lady Falcons to overtake the latter, 16-13, midway into the set.
Adamson though showed a lot heart, overtaking UST, 20-19, after.
The Falcons went a point away from closing the set out, 24-21, only to find a resilient Tigresses charge back to force a deuce at 24-all.
Adamson, however, dug deep to score the next two points to net the set, 26-24, and narrow its deficit, 2-1.
The Lady Falcons sustained their flight at the start of the fourth, building a 16-10 lead by the second technical timeout.
Led by Minela Alessandrini and rookie Eijya Laure, the Tigresses clawed their way back, edging to a 24-21 count.
The Lady Falcons though were undeterred. On the lead of veteran Joy Dacuron and Chiara Permentilla, they racked up five straight points to salvage the set, 26-24, and force a deciding fifth set.
To start the fifth set, UST played with more sense of urgency as Sisi Rondina made her presence felt.
The Tigresses raced to a 9-3 lead and never looked back after for the 15-6 count and the win.
Rondina and Laure led UST with 17 points each with Alessandrini adding 15.
Adamson, meanwhile, was paced by the 14 points of Bernadette Flora.
Permentilla and Dacuron had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“This is a welcome change for us. In the previous three seasons we always lost in our first game. It was a back-and-forth game but good thing we were able to deliver in the fifth set,” said UST coach Kung-fu Reyes after their win.