Lady Spikers sweep Lady Warriors to end slump

MANILA, Philippines – DLSU snapped a two-game losing streak after sweeping the UE Lady Warriors, 25-18, 25-20, 25-18, in the 81st UAAP women’s volleyball competition at the FilOil Flying V Centre on Saturday.

Lady Spiker Tine Tiamzon got her first start of the season and took the Player of the Game plum with 10 points.

Rookie Marrione Alba also saw a longer playing time for DLSU, with skipper Desiree Cheng not seeing action due to a shoulder injury.

Eager to get a win after two straight defeats, DLSU dominated the Lady Warriors early. The Lady Spikers jumped to an early 7-3 lead. 

But the Lady Warriors amped up their offense to get back in the set and took advantage of errors from the DLSU side.

By the middle of the set, the Lady Warriors were breathing down the necks of DLSU, 14-12.

A timeout called by de Jesus proved effective for the Lady Spikers as they cleaned up their game to pull away and get the first set win, 25-18.

But it was a different story in the second set, with UE taking the reins early this time.

DLSU looked lost at the beginning of the set, trailing the Lady Warriors, 1-7.

UE was able to hold the lead for most of the set, but the Lady Spikers grinded out a comeback to tie things up at 14-all.

Both squads traded hits as the set went back-and-forth until another deadlock at 18-all.

But the Lady Spikers served a barrage of aces against UE, mounting a 7-2 run that led to a 25-20 set win for the two-set lead.

Come the third set, it was another slow start for the defending champions. The Lady Spikers played catch-up with UE early in the third.

But rookie sensation Jolina dela Cruz gave them the lead with an off the block hit, 11-10.

Determined to finish the game early, DLSU stepped on the gas pedal. Led by attacks from Tiamzon and dela Cruz, the Lady Spikers were able to close out the game, 25-18.

The Lady Spikers tallied a total of 10 aces against UE. They also dominated the blocking game, 9-2.

Dela Cruz led the defending champions with 14 points while fellow rookie Alba tallied four.

Meanwhile, Judith Abil led the Lady Warriors with eight points.

The Lady Spikers are set for a rematch of last season's finals when they face the FEU Lady Tamaraws next on Saturday, March 16.