DEFENDING champion De La Salle survived a hard-fighting Far Eastern University (FEU) crew, 25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-7, to earn its third straight victory in Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball action on Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Lady Spikers looked headed to an easy afternoon when the Lady Tamaraws caught fire and toppled a 0-2 set deficit to send the match to a decider.
De La Salle was ahead, 23-20, in the third set but FEU’s veteran duo of Bernadeth Pons and Toni Rose Basas swung the momentum around to snatch the next two sets and send the duel to a nail-biter.
But the defending champions were all business in the fifth set and after jumping to a 9-5 advantage, they never wavered again to go unbeaten early in the season.
De La Salle tied National University (NU) at the top of the standings, but will part ways on Sunday.
FEU lost its second straight after three matches to share second place with University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila and University of Santo Tomas on 1-2 won-lost cards.
Adamson University, meanwhile, fired 17 service aces to sink UP, 25-9, 27-25, 25-20, for its second straight win also on Wednesday.
The Lady Falcons soared high from the get go with eight aces in their 16-point first set win. Mylene Paat nailed eight of the team’s 17 aces to finish with a game-high 15 points.
“I just thought ‘I can do all things through Christ.’ I kept that in mind and I was not aware I’ve been making a lot of aces,” said Paat, who also had 10 digs.
Lady Falcons skipper Jema Galanza unleashed 13 spikes for 14 points with nine receptions, while Joy Dacoron and Chiara Permentilla added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Setter Fen Emnas had 34 excellent sets for eight points, four coming from aces, for the Lady Falcons.
Adamson University Head Coach Airess Padda and the team already surpassed their 1-13 record last year as they soared for their second straight victory in three games.
“It’s a huge accomplishment, it feels good. Last year was really rough for us and winning one game was hard,” Padda said. “It shows that there’s been growth in the program and our team is not a pushover team from last year.”
In the men’s division, Far Eastern University (FEU) kept the solo lead by crusing to its third straight win at the expense of De La Salle, 25-22, 15-25, 30-28, 25-22.
John Paul Bugaoan led the Tamaraws to their third straight triumph with 19 points off 14 spikes, three blocks and two service aces. Skipper Richard Solis chipped in 14 hits, while Peter Quiel and Jude Garcia added 11 points apiece.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza