Lady Spikers rally past Lady Falcons for share of lead

MANILA, Philippines -- The La Salle Lady Spikers forced a three-way tie on top of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament standings after storming back against the Adamson Lady Falcons, 17-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-22, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

La Salle, National University and the University of Santo Tomas are now all holding 10-2 win-loss records. Only the top two teams will have the twice-to-beat advantage.

Shevana Laput once again led the Lady Spikers with a 24-point performance off 22 attacks and two blocks.

With the fourth set going down the wire, 23-21, Adamson rookie Barbie Jamili put in too much juice on her attack as it sailed out, putting La Salle to the match point, 24-21.

The Lady Falcons remained alive with a crucial point by Ayesha Juegos off the combination play, but an Alleiah Malaluan down-the-line attack secured the Lady Spikers’ win.

Thea Gagate chipped in 12 points for La Salle, which lost Baby Jyne Soreno in the first set to an apparent shoulder injury.

Julia Coronel provided great playmaking with 19 excellent sets.

Jen Villegas soared for the Lady Falcons with 16 points in the losing effort. Jamili and Juegos added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.

In the first set, La Salle was leading by two, 17-15.

Adamson then unleashed a backbreaking 10-0 run to grab the first set.

With the wake-up call, the Taft-based spikers regained their championship form and won the second and third sets convincingly.

The Soaring Falcons dropped to 3-9 in the season. They will try to go back to the win column against NU on April 20t at the Philsports Arena.

La Salle, meanwhile, will face the Ateneo Blue Eagles  on Sunday at the Big Dome.