MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Reigning champions De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers clinched the twice-to-beat advantage and eliminated the Adamson Lady Falcons in 4 sets, 25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 25-18, on Wednesday, April 11, at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

Trailing Adamson in the 4th set, the Lady Spikers rally from the deficit with 6 unanswered points capped off by Kim Dy’s attack. After Michelle Cobb’s service error, DLSU continued to lock down the Lady Falcons as Desiree Cheng’s ace closed out the match.

Adamson was one of the schools that stunned the defending champions  in the first round, defeating them in 4 sets.

With Adamson’s loss, the final cast of the UAAP Season 80 Final 4 are DLSU, Far Eastern University, Ateneo and National University.

The Lady Spikers move up to 11-2 while the Lady Falcons fall to 5-8 and are on a 3-game losing streak.

Dy led the Lady Spikers with 17 points off 13 spikes, one block and 3 aces. Michelle Cobb made 4 out of the team’s 18 aces while making 32 excellent sets.

Former DLSU Lady Spiker Eli Soyud topscored for Adamson with 17 points while captain Jema Galanza followed with 12 points.

After Aduke Ogunsanya made back-to-back aces, the Lady Falcons sparked a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to two, 15-13. An ace by Galanza made it a one-point game, but the Lady Spikers pulled away to take first set.

The Lady Spikers continued to silence the Lady Falcons in the second set with a 6-0 run to break away from the 10-10 stalemate. After pulling it to a 10-point lead, 23-13, setting errors by Michelle Cobb cost the Lady Spikers two points until Kim Dy closed out the set for a 2-0 match advantage.

The Lady Falcons’ defense suffered as they gave up a total of 8 aces in the second set.

Adamson head coach Air Padda sent in Chiara Permentilla, who was supposedly out for the season. Permentilla made immediate impact especially on the service line as she made two aces that gave Adamson the lead.

After the Lady Falcons led 18-10, DLSU blasted with 6 unanswered points that cut the deficit to two, 16-18. Adamson maintained the lead as Galanza’s attack took the 3rd set and prevented a sweep.

The Scores

DLSU (3) – Dy 17, Cheng 13, Baron 11, Luna 9, Cobb 6, Tiamzon 5, Ogunsanya 4, Ipac 1.

Adamson (1) – Soyud 17, Galanza 12, Dacoron 7, Permentilla 4, Roque 2, Paat 2, Emnas 1.

– Rappler.com