La Salle’s Thea Gagate and Leila Cruz against UST players. UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–La Salle just followed its tried and tested system to defeat a University of Santo Tomas team relying on breaks that didn’t come, 25-23, 25-17, 22-25, 25-8, Thursday and take solo second place in the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball at Mall of Asia Arena.
For a team with no players having any championship experience, the Lady Spikers played like well-oiled machine in scoring their third straight victory for an 8-3 record.
They focused their defense on UST’s top gunner, and league best scorer, Eya Laure. And that proved enough for La Salle to hand UST’s second straight defeat, sliding down to third place at 7-4.
The Tigresses tried to pull off a reversal when they took the third set through searing rally from 12-15 to a 23-22 lead.
But what worked for UST in previous matches didn’t fly this time as it was troubled by unforced errors. In the first frame alone, the Tigresses committed 12 unforced errors.
Leila Cruz led La Salle with 15 points while four other Lady Spikers finished with double digits.