Lady Spikers sweep rivals Ateneo to cement top seed
by Joaqin Valencerina
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers secured the 12th win of the season and the №1 seed in the Women’s Volleyball tournament after sweeping rivals Ateneo de Manila University (Ateneo) Blue Eagles, 25–22, 25–19, 25–18, earlier today at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
Shevana Laput was acknowledged as the Player of the Game with 16 points off 15 attacks and a service ace.
La Salle and Ateneo were neck-and-neck to begin the match as the Blue Eagles took an 8–5 lead at the first technical timeout despite Angel Canino’s hot hand. Efforts from Fifi Sharma, Laput, and Jolina dela Cruz put the Lady Spikers level on multiple occasions however a number of errors allowed Ateneo to maintain a slim advantage. DLSU finally inherited the lead for the first time at 15–14 but still couldn’t hold on for long as the squad from Katipunan were up by one at the second TTO. The game was still even towards the end of the period at 20-all, but La Salle found their breakthrough at the most crucial moment and scored five of the next seven to claim the first set 25–22.
Set 2 kicked off in a similar fashion to the first, however, this time Ateneo only held a one-point advantage at the first TTO. A Faith Nisperos mishit handed control of the game back to DLSU at 9–8, to which the Lady Spikers capitalized and turned into a 16–11 lead at the break. Both teams exchanged blows following the second technical timeout with a series of hard-hitting spikes as Nisperos, AC Miner, and Vanie Gandler kept their team within arm’s reach of the lead. A kill block from dela Cruz put La Salle up 22–19 and swung the momentum over to their side, denying Ateneo any more chances to score as they claimed the set 25–19.
Just like in the first two, the third set was once again a back-and-forth affair from the very beginning. Errors plagued both teams on the offensive and defensive fronts, but Miner, Nisperos, Laput, and Canino all provided valuable points for their respective squads. La Salle was up 8–7 at the first technical timeout of the set but was unable to pull ahead by a significant margin throughout the first half of the period. The Lady Spikers had a three-point cushion by the second TTO, and this time around their lead would remain intact until the final whistle. It was the rookie Laput, who’d shined all throughout the match, that put the final nail in the coffin for Ateneo and secured a 3–0 sweep.
The DLSU Lady Spikers (12–1) will aim to end the elimination round on a W against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors (0–12) on April 29, 3 PM at the FilOil EcoOil Arena.
Box Scores
DLSU 75 — Laput 16, Gagate 12, Canino 13, Dela Cruz 8, Sharma 4, Soreño 3, Jazareno (L) 0
ADMU 59 — Gandler 13, Nesperos 12, Miner 10, Buena 2, Fujimoto 1, Tsunashima 1, Doromal (L) 0
Set Scores: 25–22, 25–19, 25–18
