LA SALLE had to work harder than it's been used to in claiming the first twice-to-beat advantage for the Final Four - should the traditional format come into play.
The unbeaten Lady Spikers were overwhelming in the first two frames before needing to overcome Far Eastern University in five sets, 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25, and 15-10 in UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Once the green-and-white built a 11-7 cushion in the tiebreak, there was no coming back for the Lady Tamaraws anymore.
Angel Canino capped her 24-point, 13-dig, 10-reception triple-double with the game-winning attack off the block to avert a five-set meltdown right at the very end.
Shevana Laput also tallied 23 points and seven digs to back the winning cause, along with six huge blocks from Amie Provido to ace her 17-piece.
The backbone of it all was rookie playmaker Eshana Nunag with a career-high 32 excellent sets and three digs.
"Nu'ng fifth set, ni-remind lang sila ni coach [Ramil de Jesus] na kalimutan na kung ano 'yung nangyari sa third set at fourth set," said assistant coach Noel Orcullo.
"Balik lang talaga sa inumpisahan namin. Sumunod lang din sila sa kung ano 'yung gustong mangyari ni coach kaya nakuha 'yung fifth set."
Now at 11-0, La Salle stands three wins away from an elimination round sweep that would take it straight to the finals, while also trigerring a stepladder format for the rest of the playoff field.
All-out, all heart
FEU came out firing, ripping off a 7-1 run early in the match before the Lady Spikers settled down just in time to take the set.
La Salle looked poised to pull away in Set 2, but Lady Tams skipper Gerz Petallo, back from a three-game absence due to injury, sparked a late rally before Canino’s side leaned on Laput and Provido to close it out.
Sets 3 and 4 turned chaotic, as FEU came back to life.
In the end, though, it still came down to the Lady Spikers, as Canino, Laput, and Provido took charge yet again.
Petallo tallied 14 points and nine digs, while Lovely Lopez showed the way with 16. Faida Bakanke added 10 more in the Lady Tamaraws' second straight loss and fifth overall in 11 matches.
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