Lady Spikers hold off Tamaraws, bag beach volley crown

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle’s Kim Fajardo and Cyd Demecillo swept Far Eastern University’s Bernadeth Pons and Kyla Atienza to clinch its first-ever women’s crown in the UAAP Season 78 beach volleyball tournament at the Sands SM By The Bay yesterday.

The Lady Spikers needed three sets to repulse the Lady Tamaraws in the finals opener, 21-17, 16-21, 15-12, before returning in the afternoon with a 21-16, 25-23 victory in Game 2 to cap its successful title run.

In the Final Four decider, La Salle put an end to Alyssa Valdez’s hopes of winning a beach volleyball title in her final year as it ousted Ateneo, 20-22, 21-14, 16-14.

It was a sweet victory for the Lady Spikers, who won nine of their last 10 matches to capture the women’s diadem.

In Game 2, the Lady Tamaraws were on the verge of extending the match to a third set but the Lady Spikers got into the groove with Demecillo and Fajardo delivering the key kills to frustrate Pons and Atienza.

“We did not expect this. But we worked hard and did our best to win the championship,” said Demecillo, who and Fajardo had only five hours of sleep before springing into action in the Lady Spikers’ morning match. The duo played for Meralco, which has the core of La Salle players in a club league which ended at 10 p.m. late Tuesday.

FEU became the favorites after topping the single round elimination with a 6-1 record before bundling out fourth-ranked Adamson University in the Final Four.