All posts tagged De La Salle Lady Spikers

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La Salle capped a dominating season with a 25-18, 25-17, 28-26 victory over University of Santo Tomas Saturday to win the UAAP Women’s Volleyball championship at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan. It was payback time for the Lady Spikers as they lost to this same team in the finals a year ago.

Despite the Tigresses holding fort to a 24-19 lead in the 3rd set, the Lady Spikers showed poise down the stretch to hammer out this come-from-behind win. Captain Cha Cruz, who was named the Finals MVP, collected 14 hits, including four blocks, while Michelle Gumabao and season MVP Jacq Alarca combined for 25 markers.

Though they are officially 16-1 in season 73, the Lady Spikers are technically undefeated as their lone setback was a forfeiture due to an eligibility infraction.

“Hindi namin inisip na may talo kami. Inisip namin na 17-0 kami, talagang pinaghirapan ng mga bata ang championship na ito,” said a jubilant coach Ramil de Jesus, who has guided La Salle to all of its 6 UAAP championships including a 3-peat from 2003 to 2005.

Maika Ortiz had nine hits while Maru Banaticla added eight markers for Tigresses.

An outside hit by Abigail Maraño allowed UST to move closer in extending the game to a 4th set. But the Lady Spikers did not wilt under pressure as they mounted a rally to regain the upperhand 25-24. The Tigresses were able to tie the count twice, the last was at 26-26, after Ortiz scored a running spike. However, Gumabao scored a kill, while Cruz scored a hit which UST setter Rhea Dimaculangan failed to dig in which sealed the win, and the championship for La Salle.

Aside from the MVP plum, Alarca was also adjudged Best Spiker and Best Server. The other awardees from La Salle are Mika Esperanza (Rookie of the Year) and Michelle Gumabao (Best Blocker).

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The Lady Spikers are officially at 12-1 (really 13-0). With 3 losses (to La Salle in straight sets, to Ateneo also in straight sets, and to UP in 5 sets), UST is at 10-3 and cannot catch us no matter what the result of Sunday’s game is. With one play date left, the blue bird universities are currently tied at 8-5, and the loser of Sunday’s game gets the pleasure of facing the Lady Spikers in the final 4. NU and FEU are tied at 4-9, while UP and UE bring up the rear at 3-10. Interestingly, the tail enders both have a victory over a final 4 team: UE over Ateneo (their win over us was on paper), and UP over UST.

This season is practically a replay of last year upto this point. The Lady Spikers has won all its games on the court, while UST has a few losses on its slate. Remember that last year, UST found a way to beat La Salle in the last game of the eliminations, and that continued when they met in the finals. However, this edition of the Lady Spikers seems to be more mature and complete than last year’s team. They’re definitely more confident, and very little has rattled them so far – they’ve actually lost only 2 sets on the court in the entire tournament (all in the first round when they seemed to lose interest after leading by 2 sets and allowed the opponents Ateneo and FEU to steal a set each). Their dominance has been fuelled by their effectiveness and efficiency – they’ve only played 41 sets so far, and although the official tally is 36 sets won and 5 lost, the real score is 39 and 2. In contrast, UST has won 32 sets and lost 17, Ateneo has 29 and 16, and Adamson has 28 and 21.

UST looms as the probable other finalist, but they have been inconsistent. After sweeping Adamson in straight sets last week, they were extended yesterday by a much weaker FEU team. What’s food for thought for UST is that if they had lost yesterday’s game, they could have ended up tied with the winner of the Ateneo-Adamson game with a 9-5 record assuming we win on Sunday. UST remains to be a strong team despite the departure of Tabaquero, Santiago and their libero, but their inconsistent play has to be worrying for their coaches.

While there have been some fears that the Lady Spikers may have peaked too early, indications are that they are still improving. For example, while the blocking has remained to be one of their biggest weapons, the floor defense has noticeably picked up. Their conditioning has not even tested yet, and the team is still fresh from so many straight set wins. No matter who is in the back line, the Lady Spikers always have threats at the net in terms of blocking and spiking.

This Sunday’s game, while no-bearing, will be very interesting, as it might just be a preview of the finals.

This article is guest posted by PinoySpikers.com

La Salle booked the top seed in the Final Four by whipping University of the Philippines, 25-16, 25-18, 25-14 in UAAP women’s volleyball tournament Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Abigail Maraño had 12 points, including five blocks, while skipper Cha Cruz added 10 hits for the Lady Spikers, who improved to 12-1. Carmela Lopez registered nine hits while Angeli Araneta and South Ramos had six points apiece for the Lady Maroons.

UP fell to 3-10 along with University of the East at the bottom of the standings. With the match in full control, La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus decided to field his reserves.

Last year’s top rookie Joanne Siy played the whole third set, finishing with six points, while Cyd Demecillo added five markers for the Lady Spikers. Lexi Tatlonghari and Isabelle Lepping joined the fray in the second frame, chipping in a combined three markers, all in the second set.

At the end of the elimination round on Sunday, La Salle will face defending champion University of Santo Tomas. The Tigresses, who lost to the Lady Spikers in straight sets in the first round, have already clinched the second semifinals incentive.

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This article is guest posted by PinoySpikers.com

La Salle put an end to Ateneo’s seven-game winning run and a streak of 21 consecutive sets won to grab the first twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four.

Using their height advantage to the hilt, the Lady Spikers pummeled the Lady Eagles, 25-18, 25-11, 25-12, Sunday in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Veterans Stephanie Mercado and Jacq Alarca had 11 points apiece while Abigail Maraño chipped in 10 hits for La Salle, which improved their record to 11-1. The Lady Spikers registered eight blocks, with five coming from Alarca, against two by the Lady Eagles.

“Fast play ang Ateneo kaya kailangan kaming bumawi sa blocking.  For me, blocking is considered a form of attack at masaya ako at nasunod ang gameplan na pinapagawa ko,” said La Salle mentor Ramil de Jesus.

Lady Spikers’ setter Mika Esperanza also had a solid game, scoring five of her seven points from service aces.

Fille Cainglet was the lone bright spot for the Lady Eagles with 11 hits, as old reliables Bea Pascual and Dzi Gervacio could only score a combined three markers.

Ateneo slipped to 8-5 to tie Adamson in third spot and trail one and a half game behind defending champion University of Santo Tomas (9-3) in the race for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

In the men’s division,  Jay Depante, James Pecaña and JP Torres scored 13 points apiece as defending champion UST hammered out a 24-26, 25-15, 25-11, 25-15 triumph over La Salle for a 11-1 card. The Green Spikers fall to 8-5.

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