Lady Spikers keep streak versus Blue Eagles

MANILA, Philippines — Undefeated La Salle kept its mastery of rival Ateneo with ease, scoring a 25-16, 25-20, 25-13 romp to gain solo leadership in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Prized rookie Angel Canino did not shy away from her first rivalry game by hammering out a career-high 23 points on 21 hits, a block and an ace as the Lady Spikers made it 11 wins in a row over the Blue Eagles.

With veterans Jolina dela Cruz (13) and Thea Gagate (10) flaunting their usual fine games, La Salle needed only one hour and 28 minutes to dispatch Ateneo for a 3-0 record.

La Salle, last season’s runner-up, now enjoys a full-game upperhand over reigning champion National U, Santo Tomas and Adamson in a three-way logjam at No. 2 with 2-1 cards.

Earlier, UP (1-2) bested University of the East (0-3), 22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20, to barge into the women’s win column. UE (2-1) bounced back in the men’s division with a 19-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-22 win over UP (0-3). – John Bryan Ulanday

Justine Jazareno had 15 digs while Mars Alba provided 13 sets in the easy win that also handed interim head coach Noel Orcullo, in place of seasoned chief tactician Ramil De Jesus who’s out due to undisclosed reasons, a fitting win in his first Ateneo-La Salle game.

“Hindi namin iniisip kung nasa taas kami or what. Basta kami, tuloy-tuloy lang. Nire-remind namin palagi sa mga bata na ‘wag magku-kumpyansa. ‘Yung record sa taas, di muna namin iniisip,” said Orcullo.

“Kinu-kundisyon ko ‘yung sarili ko going into this game. Lagi naman akong pinapaalalahanan ni coach Ramil na kaya ko. Andyan naman lagi ‘yung guidance nya,” he added.

La Salle, which took care of business against UST and University of the Philippines, just picked up from where it left off by clipping Ateneo’s wings right off the bat on an 8-3 opening-set lead for a 25-16 rout.

The Lady Spikers rolled on from there, unleashing strong starts one set after the other, highlighted by a 25-13 domination in the clincher with the lead of Canino and Dela Cruz, who whipped back-to-back hits to end it.

“I think we all deserve the Best Player of the Game honor. Lahat po nag-contribute. Wala po akong masabi sa team. We’re proud of the team. Ginawa namin po ‘yung best namin,” said Canino, the former UAAP juniors MVP for La Salle-Zobel.

Nisperos was the lone bright spot with 11 points for Ateneo, which slid to 1-2.