MANILA, Philippines – The La Salle Lady Spikers bucked a razor-thin second-set loss and vented their ire in the third to cruise to a four-set win over the free-falling UE Lady Warriors, 25-12, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, March 8.
With their second straight win in the bag for a 3-2 slate, the Lady Spikers rose to a winning record for the first time in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament after once falling to 1-2, the vaunted program’s worst start in 19 years.
Angel Canino came close to a triple-double with 20 points off 14 attacks, 3 blocks, and 3 aces with 10 excellent digs and 9 excellent receptions, while rookie setter Mikole Reyes — sister of La Salle legend Mika Reyes — orchestrated her best game yet with 23 excellent sets.
Fuming after giving up the second set mostly due to their own errors, the Lady Spikers shaped up to title-contending form in the pivotal third set, exploding for an insurmountable 13-1 start on the heels of a rare scoring eruption from senior spiker Jyne Soreño, who scored 9 of her 12 points in the frame alone.
La Salle then kept its distance in the fourth, only dipping as low as a three-point lead, 17-14, before rolling far away with a 5-1 run, capped with a Soreño ace for the seven-point gap, 22-15, and coasted from there.
Van Bangayan paced the loss with 17 points as UE fell to a 0-6 card. – Rappler.com