MANILA, Philippines – The La Salle Lady Spikers hope to avoid another heartbreaker as they face the young and talented National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs while the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses aim to bounce back versus the Adamson Lady Falcons in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.

Defending champion La Salle succumbed to another defeat at the hands of the University of the Philippines (UP), and this time, they were demolished in straight sets. 

Nothing went right for the Lady Spikers in that match and 11-time UAAP champion coach Ramil de Jesus seemed to have run out of attacking options as captain Desiree Cheng turned out to be the lone bright spot among his senior players and wound up as the team’s lone double-digit scorer. (De Jesus: La Salle still looking for leadership)

Rookie Marrione Alba, though, tried to prove her worth in the game as she stepped up as the starting setter in the 2nd and 3rd sets, making a total of 12 excellent sets to go with 3 points and 9 digs. 

La Salle – locked in a four-way tie at 5-3 with UP, Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas – shoots for solo 2nd against NU on Wednesday, March 27, 4 pm, at the Filoil Flying V Centre. 

Although the Lady Bulldogs had since skidded after a shocking win over UP, they might just have a few tricks up their sleeves that could send the defending champions spiraling to another set of back-to-back losses. 

Princess Robles has been a real threat at the service line as she made a total of 18 aces this season. The rookie outside hitter hopes to match up against La Salle, the league’s best serving team that had a woeful showing against UP. 

While Robles ranks No.6 in league scoring with 114 points, fellow rookie Ivy Lacsina follows closely at No. 9, tallying 108 points. 

Earlier at 2 pm, the UST Golden Tigresses know they have to get back on track after falling to league-leading Ateneo Lady Eagles in 5 sets last Wednesday. 

Sisi Rondina, who shattered UST scoring records, looks to continue her momentum to trounce the cellar-dwelling but dangerous Lady Falcons. 

The Lady Falcons have shown again that they can put up a fight after dropping a five-set thriller against Season 80 finalist FEU Lady Tamaraws. – Rappler.com