Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
With University of Santo Tomas knocking on the door and forcing a fourth set, La Salle needed to regroup mentally to regain control of the match.
And when they did, the Green Spikers eventually showcased their championship pedigree.
La Salle moved on to the Finals for the ninth straight time after disposing off the pesky Tigresses Saturday in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament, 25-14, 25-20, 24-26, 25-13.
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Dy said the Lady Spikers, who had a twice-to-beat advantage in the match-up, became complacent in the third set.
“I think we woke up from the third set because I think we were too confident,” said Dy. “That has been our biggest issue, we get the first two sets and we let our guard down in the third set.”
After UST rallied behind the injured EJ Laure, who sprained her right ankle but immediately returned in the third set, Dy and the Lady Spikers restored order and pummeled the Golden Tigresses in the fourth set.
READ: La Salle barges into ninth straight finals, ousts UST
La Salle built a preposterous 12-2 lead at the start of the fourth set before middle blocker Mary Joy Baron finished things off with an off-the-block kill to seal their ninth straight trip to the finals.
“We just thought that we can’t afford to let our guard down in the fourth set, because UST might take it away from us,” said Dy who had 12 points in the victory. “We weren’t rattled at all, and we attacked them early so that we can avoid what happened in the third set.”