Lady Spikers resume quest for perfection, battle Lady Tamaraws

Jolina dela Cruz (right) is one of the offensive options of La Salle against Far Eastern. —UAAP PHOTO

At this point, after every La Salle opponent got ruthlessly blown away, the only actual threat left for the Lady Spikers, it seems, will come from within.

Despite embarrassing defending champion National University (NU) in straight sets two games in a row, the Lady Spikers remain hungry as ever, always feeling the dire necessity to outperform their previous selves each time.

And assistant coach Noel Orcullo was quick to point out that the hurdle would come from the mistakes that the Lady Spikers usually make.

“We’ve been working on minimizing our errors. Hopefully, we can cut it down to single digits in [our] succeeding games,’’ said Orcullo after the Lady Spikers limited their errors to just 12 against the Lady Bulldogs to continue setting the pace in Season 85 of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament with their eighth straight win.

They’ll be facing the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena, and though pundits can’t help but foresee another La Salle victory, the Lady Spikers refuse to take risks and would rather be on the safe side.

“We just have to stick to the system that our coaches have designed and continue to believe in ourselves,’’ said Angel Canino, the established big difference in La Salle’s unbeaten run and newfound swag.

Deflecting credit

Angel Canino and the La Salle Lady Spikers. –UAAP PHOTO

The power-smashing outside hitter is on track to become another Rookie-Most Valuable Player, just the second in league history after NU’s Bella Belen last season, after leading the stat sheets in the first round.

But Canino refused to take credit and pointed to the effective team chemistry with outside hitter Jolina dela Cruz, middle blockers Thea Gagate, Fifi Sharma, setter Mars Alba and Baby Jyne Soreno all contributing.

“I don’t think that it’s only my performance. We all help each other out on the court. It’s a total team effort why we’re winning,’’ said Canino.

The Lady Tamaraws (4-4) are coming off a victory over the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons and would need their A-game to contend with the Lady Spikers.

Hitters Jovelyn Fernandez and Cherie Tagaod are going to spearhead the Lady Tamaraws, with help expected from Alyzza Devosora, Jean Asis and setter Christine Ubaldo.

Reeling from a recent defeat at the hands of the Adamson Lady Falcons, the University of Santo Tomas Tigresses, meanwhile, try to get back on track when they battle the winless University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors in the 12 noon game.

The Tigresses dropped to 5-3 with the loss, and would need every win they can get to assure a Final Four stint with Eya Laure and Regina Jurado leading the charge together with Milena Alessandrini.

Though winless in eight games, the Lady Warriors won’t be easy pickings for Santo Tomas, which was taken to four sets by UE in the first round. INQ