Lady Spikers out to bounce back Wednesday

As La Salle tries to rebound from its first loss, coach Ramil de Jesus expects his Lady Spikers to have worked on their weak spots when the second round of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament fires off today.

“I think next time, the players would have already realized their mistakes,” De Jesus said of his squad, which dropped a gruelling five-setter to defending champion Ateneo last week.

The Lady Spikers, running second with a 6-1 record, go for a repeat over fourth-running Far Eastern University at 4 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena.

University of the Philippines, locked in a three-way tie at 3-4 with FEU and Adamson, battles winless University of the East at 2 p.m.

The Lady Maroons remain favored even without standout Kathy Bersola, last season’s Best Blocker who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in her last outing.

Led by Ara Galang, the Lady Spikers too are tipped to pick up their seventh victory against the young Lady Tamaraws bannered by Bernadeth Pons and rookie Toni Basas.

“We were dominated in attacks [by Ateneo], so that’s one thing we have to improve on,” said De Jesus.

Ateneo grabbed the No. 1 spot at 7-0 by wrapping up the first round with a thrilling 25-22, 25-27, 16-25, 25-14,15-9 win over La Salle, which blew a 2-1 set lead.