STEPHANIE MERCADO pumped her fist as she scored the 24th point in the third and last set of yesterday’s playoff double-header. By the time the lead in the third set had ballooned to 10, people started flocking out of The Arena in San Juan.
The February 6 edition of UAAP Women’s Volleyball featured all of this season’s final four teams. All schools were heavily represented in an almost sellout crowd, which had more green than blue shirts.
A revitalized green squad gave the crowd good reason to leave. Their stellar defense―notably, the sporadic contribution from star libero Melissa Gohing―and equally boisterous offense cooled Ateneo’s seven-game winning streak.
The first set started off nicely for both squads, as each team exchanged points until Ateneo’s errors widened a two-point margin, and La Salle’s Lady Spikers took advantage, spiking the lead up to seven, 25-18.
Things got worse in the second set as the Ateneo defense scrambled to make blocks and digs. Rookie libero Denn Lazaro was pressured to receive Michelle Gumabao’s powerful spikes. The La Salle defense rotated perfectly, en route to a 25-11 drubbing.
Coach Roger Gorayeb called a lot of timeouts in the last set, as the ladies in blue tried to make their last stand. La Salle’s game plan of switching Gumabao and Jackie Alarca with Gohing when Ateneo seemed to catch up worked perfectly, as it caused the Katipunan defense to scramble and re-adjust their defensive schemes.
La Salle’s blocking defense, which was led by Gumabao, Mercado, Alarca and Cha Cruz, stymied the Ateneo offense, usually led by juniors Fille Cainglet and Angeline Gervacio. The lead ballooned to 13 points, the biggest game differential, prompting Coach Gorayeb to insert reserves Amy Ahomiro and Aerieal Patnongon to rest his veterans. The third set ended with a 25-12 slate.
Mercado and Alarca led the green Lady Spikers with 11 points apiece. Abigail Marano followed with 10 points. MVP Candidate Fille Cainglet led the Blue and White with 11 points of her own, playing one of her most spirited games. Cainglet was the only player who scored in double digits for Ateneo as Gretchen Ho followed with four of her own.
SET SCORES: 25-18, 25-11, 25-12
