Lady Spikers near semis

La Salle exacted a cold and swift revenge over University of the Philippines Sunday, 27-25, 25-11, 25-17, to inch closer toward a Final Four spot in the UAAP women’s volleyball at FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.

The Lady Spikers went all out against their first-round tormentor, sizing up the Lady Maroons until they got their groove and cruised to the easy straight sets win.

It was the Lady Spikers’ eighth win in 10 games, solidifying their hold of second spot.

In doing so, they buried the Lady Maroons to a 5-5 record after a 4-0 start.

Earlier, National University leaned on Jaja Santiago to survive University of the East, 25-15, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, for a 6-4 record, tying idle University of Santo Tomas for third place.

The Lady Maroons engaged the defending champion Lady Spikers in a fierce back and forth duel with UP even taking set point, 24-23, after rallying from 21-23.

But errors hounded UP before Kim Kiana Dy came though with a slam and helped with a kill-block to secure the opening frame for La Salle.

The next two sets were dominated by La Salle which got 16 points from middle blocker Majoy Baron, who made seven spikes, six aces and three blocks.

“We were able to make key adjustments in attacks and at the same time receive and block better than what we did in the first round,” Baron said.

Santiago came to the rescue of disjointed NU, making 23 points, including three straight in the endgame.

Jorelle Singh contributed 17 points, while Risa Sato added 10 for the lady Bulldogs.

Shaya Adorador topscored with 16 for UE, while Judith Abil chipped in 10 points, but their efforts hardly made a difference as NU outspiked UE, 52-31.