La Salle forces three-way tie on top in UAAP women’s volleyball

La Salle’s Shevana Laput in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.–UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–La Salle squandered an opening set that could have gone its way before storming back for a 17-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-22 win over Adamson on Wednesday at the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball.

Shevana Laput pierced the defensive line with 22 attacks out of her game-high 24 points while Julia Coronel fluidly kept their offense humming after a forgettable first frame as the Lady Spikers bounced back from a defeat against National University and fortified their twice-to-beat bid in the Final Four.

“We were tentative in the first set. Everybody waited for each other, nobody wanted to lead,” said La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo after they forged a three-cornered fight at the top with identical 10-2 cards with National University and University of Santo Tomas.

La Salle deputy coach Noel Orcullo, Shevana Laput, and Julia Coronel after overcoming a first set loss to Adamson. #UAAPSeason86 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/uADIcPCANP

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) April 17, 2024

SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball second round

Barbie Jamili gave the Lady Falcons the cushion they needed in the first set by smashing La Salle thrice in a row, 22-17, right after Jyne Soreno hurt her left shoulder after bumping libero Lyka De Leon in a wild ball chase.

The Lady Spikers just couldn’t recover their bearings from there with Julia Coronel’s spike smothered by Jen Villegas and an Angelica Alcantara push to a hole in the middle wrapping up the set.

“We’ll be making adjustments due to what happened to Jyne earlier. But then again, despite the injuries, we’ll just keep on fighting,” said Coronel, who launched 19 excellent sets and had six digs and three blocks.

Soreno was seen on the bench with a sling on her left arm, joining Angel Canino, who sat out for the fourth straight game due to an arm injury. There was no initial assessment on Soreno’s shoulder yet, according to Orcullo.

After giving up 10 straight points in the opening frame, the defending champions charged back and didn’t let a dominating effort slip away from their grasp.

Amie Provido’s running attack followed by Coronel’s block and an Adamson net violation put them in the comfort zone, 22-17, before Gagate lit it up.

READ: UAAP: La Salle enters key stretch in top two bid against Adamson

Laput hammered a kill to the back row and Gagate’s consecutive power tips on the same vacant spot right at the center leveled the count going into the third set.

“We just need to listen to what the coaches are saying and stick to the system no matter what happens, no matter if there’s an injury on the court or we lose a set,” said Laput, who led La Salle in three of the four games they’ve won without Canino.

“If we go back to our system, we can win this. When we play with our hearts as well as our minds, we can do anything,” added Laput.

The Lady Spikers surely did and made it uneventful in the succeeding set, bolting out of the gates early and compiling a lead nearly impossible to overhaul.

Thea Gagate, who finished with 12 points built around nine attacks and contributed three blocks, bumped it up, 20-9, with a down-the-line kill and deflected a Barbie Jamili attack for a 13-point cushion before Maicah Larroza and Laput joined the action.

Larroza pummeled a cross from the back row and Laput concluded the set by rolling another crosscourt adjacent to the net.

The Lady Falcons fought it out in the fourth with Villegas and Ayesha Juegos keeping them afloat.

Villegas scored on a push and back-to-back attacks by Juegos gave them a chance, but Laput was steadfast on pounding them, dropping four projectiles in succession.

With only pride at stake, the Lady Falcons dropped to their ninth defeat in 12 games with two more matches remaining. Villegas led them with 16 points and two blocks while Jamili added 11, two aces and five digs.

After Laput’s last kill, 23-21, Jamili committed a crucial error that saw her spike go wide before Malaluan finished Adamson off with a down-the-line strike.