Lady Spikers near crown

A hard-starting La Salle shook off an overeager Far Eastern University to roll to the door of a third straight UAAP women’s volleyball championship Saturday night.

Fumbling off the gates, the Lady Spikers needed to fight off a late opening-set surge by the Lady Tamaraws to score a 29-27, 25-21, 25-22, win in Game 1 of their best-of-three finals at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

La Salle can wrap up the title on Wednesday also at the Big Dome.

FEU entered the finals as a gritty, no-nonsense contender but it clearly lacked La Salle’s championship savvy. And this was never more evident than in the first set.

The Lady Tamaraws stubbornly fought off three set points, 21-24, and even got to set point twice, but could not muster the nerve and tenacity to close out the Lady Spikers.

Instead, FEU threw away points on a spate of unforced errors to yield the opening set in a collapse that practically dictated the rest of the match.

“The hardest part is always the first set because that’s where you get the confidence,” La Salle captain Majoy Baron said in Filipino in reference to their rough opening frame.

La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus also admitted the game wouldn’t have ended the same way had they lost the first set.

“We always have a hard time playing FEU,” De Jesus said in Filipino. “They gave us a hard time in the first set but the important thing is that we did not give up.”

Dawn Macandili, the omni-present libero who made 24 excellent digs and 13 receptions, said the victory was a big boost to their confidence going into Game 2, “but for sure FEU will make adjustment and won’t give up easily.”

Kim Kiana Dy chalked up 10 points to lead the Lady Spikers, while reserve spiker May Luna added nine. Baron, who along with Macandili and Dy is on her last tour of duty for La Salle, chipped in eight points.

“I have too much confidence in my players, I know that at any given time, anybody can step up and deliver,” added De Jesus.

Michelle Cobb had 15 excellent sets on top of four points for the Lady Spikers, who practically coasted along in the second and third sets.

Heather Guino-o topscored for FEU with 14 points, while team star Bernadeth Pons added nine for the Lady Tamaraws, who were visibly groping in their first finals appearance in nine years.

FEU, however, showed glimpses of what it is capable once it calms its nerves, and La Salle feels it was lucky to catch the Lady Tamaraws on a bad day.

“We expected a hard-fought game against FEU. FEU hardly has a weak point in their rotation,” De Jesus said in Filipino.

Earlier, National University moved to within a win of capturing the men’s title after a 25-20, 25-19, 25-23 triumph over three-time defending champion Ateneo.