Lady Spikers trip Tams, keep lead

MANILA, Philippines - Titlist La Salle continued its winning ways, making Far Eastern U its latest victim via 25-19, 25-17, 25-16 verdict yesterday in the UAAP Season 76 women’s volleyball tourney at the Filoil Arena.

The Lady Spikers turned to debutante Ara Galang (18 hits and four digs) with captain Abi Maraño (four blocks, 10 hits) and rookie Desiree Cheng (seven points) providing able support in turning back the Lady Tams and going 5-0 without dropping a set.

Overall, La Salle has won 21 straight games dating back to Season 75.

“Kahit na nanalo kami, hindi pa nagtatapos dahil marami pa kaming dadaanan na team (The job’s not over yet, many teams are out to get our heads),” said Galang, who turned 19 last Saturday.

“Maganda ang iginalaw ng FEU. Kumpleto sila at may floor defense at fast play. Madami silang strength na dapat pigilan (FEU executed its game plan well, they have good floor defense and fast play and other strengths we need to overcome),” said DLSU coach Ramil de Jesus.

The Lady Spikers also avenged their shocking setback to the same FEU side in the University Games last November.

“Last Unigames, natalo kami (sa Lady Tamaraws). Sinabi ko sa mga bata na dapat alam natin kung ano ang mga pagkakamali natin at least nakakilos kami ng tama (I told the team to learn from our mistakes in our loss to FEU in the Unigames and we’re able to make adjustments today),” said De Jesus.

Geneveve Casugod punched in eight markers for FEU, which dropped to a tie for fifth with University of Santo Tomas (2-3).

Meanwhile, Adamson recovered from a listless start before drubbing University of the East, 23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-10, to move up to fourth with 3-2.

The Lady Warriors (0-6) finally won a set this season but the Lady Falcons responded to the wakeup call and took the next three sets to prevail in the end.

“Sabi ko sa kanila na maglaro nang tama at hindi i-underestimate ang kalaban tsaka kailangang nasa kundisyon (I reminded them to play our game and never underestimate our opponents),” said Adamson coach Sherwin Meneses.

Sheila Pineda fired five service aces and had seven digs for a team-high 17 points, while Amanda Villanueva and Mylene Paat combined for 26 hits for AdU.