MANILA, Philippines — The DLSU Lady Spikers shrugged off a flat start in the first two sets to edge the UE Lady Warriors, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14, for their fourth straight win in the UAAP Season 85 women's volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
The Taft-based volleybelles picked up steam in the third and final set where they built double-digit leads after the Lady Warriors kept things interesting in sets one and two.
Powered by their superior blocking, the Lady Spikers extinguished the challenge by the still winless Lady Warriors.
By the middle of the third set, DLSU doubled up on UE, 16-8, after an offspeed hit from Player of the Game Thea Gagate.
Gagate also scored the block point against Jana Lana to clinch the match, 25-14.
The middle blocker finished with 13 points built off of eight attacks and five blocks.
UAAP Player of the Week Angel Canino provided 10 points while Jolina Dela Cruz added nine markers.
In the first two sets, a busier UE side kept things close with La Salle. But the Lady Warriors often shot themselves in the foot, with errant hits and unforced errors helping to keep La Salle afloat.
UE actually zoomed to a 4-0 start in the second set, but let La Salle back in because of their miscues.
By the first technical timeout, La Salle overtook the lead, 8-7, off of a Baby Jyne Soreno ace.
Despite the win, La Salle interim head coach Noel Orcullo lamented the early lack of respect for their foes, which led to a back-and-forth affair in the first two periods.
"Actually, we started too slow. Masyado kaming kampante. Yun yung sinasabi ko na once na hindi mo nirespect yung kalaban... May chance kayong talunin. Yun nga nangyari, first two sets, ganun, sinasabayan yung laro ng kalaban. So hindi kami nagstick sa game plan namin," said Orcullo.
Still, La Salle kept their record spotless remained atop the standings for now.
The team will look to keep things going when it faces the FEU Lady Tamaraws on Saturday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.