NIKOLE JAVIER 

There’s no better way to welcome a returning coach but to win in a big way. And the La Salle Lady Spikers simply did that by beating the defending champion National University Lady Bulldogs for the second time in four days.

With super rookie Angel Casino and Jolina dela Cruz forming a deadly 1-2 punch, the Lady Spikers romped to a 26-24, 26-24, 25-16 win before a roaring crowd in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday night, March 25, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The win was doubly special for the Lady Spikers as they fashioned it out on the return of head coach Ramil de Jesus from a long hiatus.

The first two sets was dramatic and hotly contested with both teams determined to fulfill their missions with the Lady Spikers eager to prove their first round win was no fluke.

Judging how they persevered to prevail in the hardest way, the Lady Spikers managed to convey their message to the Lady Bulldogs and to the rest of their rivals – loud and clear.

After missing out on La Salle’s first round campaign, with Noel Orcullo serving as interim mentor, De Jesus returned to his post to lead the Lady Spikers to their 8^th straight win.

Canino topscored for La Salle with 15 points off 13 attacks, a block and an ace, while Jolina Dela Cruz contributed 12.

Tied at 12-all after a Bella Belen hit, La Salle encountered an early mishap following Leila Cruz’ knee injury scare on a non-contact fall after attempting a spike during a long rally.

Still, the Lady Spikers managed to untangle themselves from the Lady Bulldogs at 24-all, which was the 10th deadlock of the first set courtesy of Sharma’s quick attack and Canino’s service ace.

Similar to the opening set, the Lady Spikers fell behind early in the second frame, rallied to grab the lead before relaxing that gave NU an opening to stage a fightback that saw them tie the count at 24-all.

But Canino rose to the occasion once again as she soared for a through-the-block hit which was quickly followed by a net violation from the NU side that ended the set.

The third set was very different as the Lady Spikers put on a show to win pulling away.

Despite being outscored in the attacking department with 38 compared to NU’s 47, La Salle managed to limit its errors anew and gave away only 12, 14 less than the Lady Bulldogs.

Belen and Vangie Alinsug paced the reigning champion with 17 and 14 markers, as they fell 5-3 in the standings.  

Meantime, Adamson bucked a slow start to turn back University of Santo Tomas, 11-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-22.

After their lopsided opening set loss, the Lady Falcons managed to recover in the next three frames to climb to 6-2 in the standings and sweep their head-to-head elimination series against the Golden Tigresses this season.

Trisha Tubu led Adamson with 21 points off 15 attacks and six blocks.

In the other game, Ateneo also reaffirmed its mastery over University of the East, 25-16, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19, to improve to 5-3.