UAAP: La Salle Lady Spikers blast UE to complete first round sweep

MANILA, Philippines – The De La Salle University Lady Spikers closed the first round of eliminations with a spotless record as they swept the University of the East Lady Warriors, 25-12, 25-18, 25-20, in the 76th UAAP Women’s Volleyball tournament, Wednesday, January 15, at The Arena in San Juan.

With both teams positioned on opposite ends of the table, there were no surprises this afternoon as La Salle extended their UAAP winning streak to 23 games, buoyed by Ara Galang’s 13 points and Desiree Cheng’s 8.

The Lady Warriors, looking on the verge of another winless season, needed to pull off a miracle as they are in the midst of an almost two-year drought, with their last UAAP win coming way back in Season 74. That miracle, however, did not happen against La Salle as they gamely took on the hapless Recto-side to deal them their 24th straight defeat.

Heavily-favored on paper, the Lady Spikers took off to an emphatic start as they practically shut down UE’s attacking to take the opening set, 25-12.

The second frame was not a pretty sight for the Lady Warriors either as Galang continues to be in-form for La Salle, making mincemeat of UE’s defense.

UE, however, saw some hope for themselves as they fought La Salle’s second stringers to an intense third set, but even the Lady Spikers’ bench proved to be too much for the Lady Warriors who have only won a single set in Season 76.

Sarina Faith Bulan finished the game with 10 points for UE while Shaya Adorador added 9.

With the win, La Salle takes strong grip of the top spot at 7-0 with National University breathing down their necks at 6-1. UE remains the only winless team in the tournament so far, finishing the first round of eliminations at 0-7. – Rappler.com