La Salle books Final Four ticket, ousts Adamson

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

De La Salle University cruised to a three-set victory over Adamson, 25-13, 25-11, 25-18 to book a Final Four spot in the UAAP Season 78 women’s volleyball Sunday at Philsports Arena.

At 9-2, Lady Spikers joined defending champion and fierce rival Ateneo in the semifinals with three games still left in their schedule.

“For us, whichever comes first, thats what we’re going to prepare for. This is just a reward for winning,” said DLSU head coach Ramil de Jesus, as his crew seized its eighth straight semifinals appearance.

“Winning is the result of what we’ve been practicing of,” de Jesus added.

Kim Dy wreaked havoc with her serve, scoring four of her 11 points on aces, while May Luna also had her service game going with five service aces to end up with seven points.

That edge set the tone for the match, as the Lady Spikers fired five aces in the first set and finished with 12 in the game.

Kim Fajardo added 10 markers, including the match-clinching tip, together with her 33 excellent sets, while Ara Galang nailed nine of her 10 points off kills. Mika Reyes got all of her eight points from spikes.

La Salle played without Cyd Demecillo, who is on a two-week rest after spraining her ankle last Wednesday against UP.

May Roque topped Adamson (3-8) with five points in the defeat, which eliminated the Lady Falcons from the playoff race.

The Lady Falcons got a scare in the third set when Roque went down with an apparent left knee injury. She walked off the pain but did not return to the game.

Adamson remained winless under interim head coach Domingo Custodio.