Archers twit Lady Falcons; Lady Bulldogs rip Warriors

MANILA, Philippines — Defending three-time champion La Salle sustained its hot start, smothering Adamson, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20, to notch back-to-back wins in the UAAP season 81 women’s volleyball yesterday.

Rookie Jolina dela Cruz led with 10 points, Des Cheng and Aduke Ogunsanya dropped nine each while May Luna came away with eight points as the Lady Spikers followed up on their four-set opening game victory over archrival Ateneo.

DLSU thus gained a share of the early lead with University of the Philippines.

“This is a good sign for the team. It means that it is not just the captain or the seniors who will lead. Even the rookie must start by leading herself first to be able to lead the team,” said DLSU coach Ramil de Jesus.

Michelle Cobb handed out 25 excellent sets while CJ Saga dished out 22 digs and nine excellent receptions for the Lady Spikers.

Bernadette Flora and Joy Dacoron each scored nine while Chiara Permentilla and Eli Soyud had six apiece for AdU which stumbled to its second straight loss after also bowing to University of Santo Tomas in five sets.

The Lady Spikers broke away halfway in the opening frame and appeared to cruise in the second, 18-11, until Bernadette Flora breathed life to the Lady Falcons hopes  even as errors befell the Lady Spikers and  allowed AdU to come within 21-22.

Cheng and Ogunsanya, however, countered quickly for DLSU while rookie Trisha Genesis erred from the backrow to hand the Lady Spikers a 2-0 set advantage.

“There are situations that the players couldn’t adjust so one of our problems earlier was lack of communication. Hopefully, we will be able to avoid that,” said De Jesus.

Youthful National University got the better of its more-experienced foe, University of the East, as it  hacked out a 25-19, 25-23, 25-19 victory in the other game.