La Salle’s Majoy Baron, Aduke Ogunsanya and Desiree Cheng erupt in celebration as NU’s Rose Valdez misses the ball to seal the Lady Spikers’ seventh win. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Defending champion La Salle exposed National University’s flaws to fashion out a 25-21, 25-11, 15-25, 25-12 triumph Sunday in the 79th UAAP women’s volleyball at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Spikers chalked up their seventh victory against two defeats to stay within striking distance of idle league leaders and rivals Ateneo Lady Eagles (7-1).
La Salle likewise snapped NU’s two-game winning streak and once again revealed the overall lack of system of the Lady Bulldogs despite their formidable roster.
NU, coming off successive victories over Adamson and University of the Philippines, fell to 5-4.
Earlier, Far Eastern U took its turn in inflicting damage on winless Adamson, scoring a thorough 25-9, 25-20, 25-11 win.
Kim Kianna Dy shone in the opposite position, hammering 17 points including 12 attacks for La Salle, while Majoy Baron imposed her menacing presence at the net, making six blocks to finish with 15 points.
The Lady Bulldogs were nowhere near what were expected of them in the offseason as 6-foot-4 Jaja Santiago failed to carry them.
Santiago was limited to nine points as setter Jasmine Nabor failed to maximize her towering teammate’s imposing presence due to poor passing.
NU managed to steal a set in the third but that was largely because La Salle relaxed after taking the first two frames.
“We were having too many errors and became too distracted by them,” said Baron. “But fortunately we were able to come back and do what we were trained to do in practice.”