UAAP volleyball power rankings week two: Lady Spikers take top spot

MANILA, Philippines – After the second week of UAAP women’s volleyball action, Rappler ranks the teams based on their performance, game results and stats from TMX Sports.

Below are the power rankings for week two:

1. De La Salle University (2-1, LW: 6th)

Attacking: 4th
Blocking: 1st
Serving: 4th
Digging: 1st
Setting: 1st
Receiving: 2nd

After an “okay” opening, the Lady Spikers skyrocketed to the top of this list after two impressive performances in Week 2 as the two-time defending champions proved that their opening-day loss was nothing but a fluke.

La Salle bounced Final Four contenders Adamson and Far Eastern U like they were high school teams winning both games in straight sets and showing no mercy as they finally got their bid for a three-peat going.

Four Lady Spikers norm double-digit scoring as the Green and White have displayed the deadly form they flashed en route to a 16-1 record in Season 74.

2. Ateneo de Manila University (3-0, LW: 2nd)

Attacking: 2nd
Blocking: 5th
Serving: 3rd
Digging: 2nd
Setting: 2nd
Receiving: 3rd

Coach Roger Gorayeb himself was visibly elated after seeing his wards play “as a team” in their glorious win over hapless Santo Tomas, one that saw Alyssa Valdez spark the rout and Fille Cainglet and Dzi Gervacio finish the mauling.

Jem Ferrer has regained her throne as the league’s best setter, making good use of the Lady Eagles’ weapons as they have soared atop the UAAP standings.

Ateneo, though, will be tested on Saturday, December 15 when they face another formidable squad in streaking National U.

3. National University (2-1, LW: 1st)
Attacking: 1st
Blocking: 2nd
Serving: 1st
Digging: 5th
Setting: 4th
Receiving: 1st

The Lady Bulldogs followed up their morale-boosting win over UST with a clinical dismantling of University of the East last Saturday., December 8.

While everybody has been talking about the power and skill of Dindin Santiago, another spiker in Myla Pablo has seen her stock rise to new heights following a career-best 22-point performance against the Lady Warriors, giving NU a potent additional weapon aside from Santiago, Cai Nepomuceno and rookie Aiko Urdas.

The question now for Coach Franz Vicente is who will he tap to replace Ivy Perez as the team’s starting setter after Perez dislocated her right thumb against UE.

4. Adamson University (2-1, LW: 5th)

Attacking: 5th
Blocking: 4th
Serving: 5th
Digging: 4th
Setting: 5th
Receiving: 6th

After getting toyed with by La Salle, the Lady Falcons clawed back to score a solid win over University of the Philippines last Thursday, December 6, one that cemented their stake in the top four after Week 2.

Bhebs Pineda finally came up with an explosive game, delivering 16 points as Adamson clobbered the Lady Maroons in straight sets to give new coach Sherwin Meneses his second UAAP win. Mayette Zapanta has been contributing handsomely over the past two games, too, while Pau Soriano remains the stalwart of the San Marcelino-based squad.

But when you look at numbers, Adamson is a middling team that needs to improve on almost all facets of their game to make a dent come playoff time.

5. Far Eastern University (1-2, LW: 7th)

Attacking: 3rd
Blocking: 3rd
Serving: 2nd
Digging: 7th
Setting: 6th
Receiving: 4th

Rose Vargas has taken up from where she left off last season, making a case for another Best Scorer award with an average of 18.3 points after three matches.

But the rest of the Lady Tamaraws need to catch up, especially last year’s Best Setter Gyzel Sy and Best Digger Christine Agno, both of whom have been unimpressive at the start of the season, negating the strong play by veteran Wenneth Eulalio.

One thing going for FEU, however, is their schedule. They’ve played last season’s finalists and will play four winnable games that can boost their stock come the end of Round 1.

6. University of Santo Tomas (1-2, LW: 4th)

Attacking: 6th
Blocking: 6th
Serving: 7th
Digging: 3rd
Setting: 3rd
Receiving: 7th

Sure they have played the UAAP’s toughest schedule so far (La Salle, NU and Ateneo in their first three games) but watching the Golden Tigresses flaunt disappointing form in their last two games has left many of their die-hard fans shaking their heads.

After a stirring win over the Lady Spikers, UST has fallen back to earth — badly. Loren Lantin’s setting has been shaky but what’s most shocking for the Tigresses is the fact that their attackers in Judy Caballejo, Maika Ortiz and Maru Banaticla have been delivering underwhelming performances so far.

As a matter of fact, Banaticla, who partnered with Caballejo to cop the women’s beach volley crown last September, has scored a grand total of five points in their last two losses, sending her rolling down to 30th on the scoring list.

7. University of the Philippines (1-2, LW: 3rd)

Attacking: 7th
Blocking: 7th
Serving: 6th
Digging: 6th
Setting: 6th
Receiving: 5th

The Lady Maroons’ inexperience have taken the best of them in Week 2, and their subpar play in losses against FEU and Adamson had us ranking them at the cellar.

UP has had problems penetrating through the defense of their opponents, mostly scoring off errors as their attackers have failed to pierce through the blockers. After a promising start, rookie Aliyah Ong has scored just six points in their last two games while nobody in the team averages more than 8.3 points per outing.

A bright spot for the Lady Maroons is the play of Princess Gaiser, who currently sits at third in the Best Receiver ranking ahead of more seasoned liberos in Denden Lazaro, Dancel Dusaran and Christine Agno.

8. University of the East (0-3, LW: 8th)

Attacking: 8th
Blocking: 8th
Serving: 8th
Digging: 8th
Setting: 8th
Receiving: 8th

Could this team go 0-14? Judging from how they have played their first three games, a winless season is not a farfetched idea.

Bar none, the Lady Warriors have been the worst team in the UAAP this season. And unfortunately for UE fans, there is no solution in sight for their beleaguered squad, aside from a schedule that gets a little bit easier than the last two games they played (against Ateneo and NU). – Rappler.com