Gunning for their third three-peat this season, the De La Salle University Lady Spikers escaped the University of Sto. Tomas Lady Tigresses in five grueling sets, 25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-8, in the first day of the UAAP Season 80 Women’s Volleyball, Saturday, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Lady Spikers and Lady Tigresses will have to adjust this season after losing reigning best setter Kim Fajardo to graduation and ace player EJ Laure to injury, respectively.
However, it was still a highly anticipated match with the debut of La Salle’s newly-appointed starting setter Michelle Cobb and Filipino-Italian rookie Milena Alessandrini.
As if the match was scripted, La Salle and UST bagged the sets alternately, and battled it out in a deciding fifth set.
However, it was the championship experience of La Salle that prevailed in the end, starting the last frame with a 5-0 run even after losing their momentum in the fourth set, then eventually won the game for their first win.
The void in terms of leadership left by Fajardo was filled by the incumbent MVP Majoy Baron who top-scored for La Salle with 19 points. Desiree Cheng and Aduke Ogunsanya added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Sisi Rondina explosively started the season with a whopping 28-point output, but she needed help from her teammates as only Alessandrini was able to produce a double-digit marker with 18 points.
Player of the Game: Majoy Baron, 19 points (12 attacks, 5 blocks, 2 service aces)
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