Lady Spikers spank Eagles; FEU rips UST

MANILA, Philippines —  Defending champion De La Salle drew strength from its veterans Kim Kianna Dy and Tin Tiamzon to beat Ateneo, 25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20 in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament last night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Dy had seven blocks and three service aces to finish with 21 points, Tiamzon added 13 hits, 11 excellent receptions and eight digs for the Lady Spikers.      

De La Salle was solid in the first two but the third set was something to be desired before getting back into the groove in the fourth.

“Yung laro kasi parang roller coaster,” said coach Ramil de Jesus after the Lady Spikers fashioned out the win in front of a season-high 18,537 fans.     

Earlier, Far Eastern University played its best game of the season with a swift 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 victory over University of Santo Tomas to tie De La Salle at 5-2.

The Lady Spikers were down 11-21 in the third frame before substitute setter CJ Saga engineered a telling 10-0 run capped by Desiree Cheng’s back-to-back service aces to tie the set at 21 which rattled the Lady Eagles.     

De La Salle had a chance to complete the fightback, hitting the match point courtesy of Aduke Ogunsanya, but Ateneo recovered just in time by winning the next three points capped by a Kat Tolentino kill to get a lifeline.    

With the Lady Eagles catching up at 19-21 after trailing by six in the fourth, the Lady Spikers avoided a meltdown with coach Ramil de Jesus bringing Saga back in lieu of a struggling Michelle Cobb, while Tiamzon and Dy delivered the goods to close out the one hour, 59 minute match.      

Ateneo had its four-game winning streak snapped as it dropped in fourth spot at 4-3.

Jho Maraguinot tallied 13 points and 16 digs while Tolentino added 12 markers for the Lady Eagles.

Kyla Negrito orchestrated the Lady Tamaraws’ balanced offense with 22 excellent sets as the Morayta-based spikers extended their winning run to four games.

FEU also took care of the volleyball so well in the straight-sets romp, committing only a season-low 17 errors.

The Lady Tamaraws simply caught the Tigresses on an off day, as the usually explosive Sisi Rondina had to bleed for 11 points.