La Salle Secures Twice-to-Beat Advantage as FEU's Comeback Falls Short

De La Salle University narrowly avoided disaster against Far Eastern University, pulling off a 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25, 15-10 win to stay undefeated and earn a twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Volleyball Final Four on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

With an unblemished 11-0 record, the Lady Spikers are eyeing an elimination round sweep, which would secure them an outright Finals berth.

“First and foremost, during the fifth set, Coach Ramil just told them to forget about the third and fourth sets, and go back to how we started the match. They followed his instructions, and that’s how we won the fifth set,” said La Salle deputy coach Noel Orcullo.

However, maintaining their perfect record required composure and determination as the Lady Tamaraws mounted a fierce comeback.

La Salle was on the verge of sweeping the match at 23-20 when FEU surged with five unanswered points, thanks to three errors, a block by Tin Ubaldo, and an ace, forcing a fifth set.

The Lady Tamaraws carried that momentum into the fourth, building a commanding 23-13 lead to push the match to a decider.

In the fifth set, La Salle found a second wind as veterans Angel Canino, Amie Provido, and Shevana Laput led their team to victory after two hours and 27 minutes of intense play.

With FEU closing the gap at 9-11, Provido, Laput, Canino, and sophomore Shane Reterta combined for a decisive 4-1 run, sealing the win and preserving La Salle’s perfect record.

“We’re really grateful for the win, but we also need to look at the game beyond the result. There were a lot of lapses that we could have avoided as a team. We need to go back to the basics,” said Canino, who finished with 24 points, 14 digs, and 10 receptions.

Laput contributed 25 points and seven digs, while Provido stepped up with 17 points, including 10 attacks, six blocks, and an ace.

Rookie setter Eshana Nunag continued to impress, delivering 32 excellent sets as La Salle dominated both attacks and blocks, 58-50 and 17-11, respectively. However, FEU had the upper hand in the service department, 9-3.

La Salle’s next match is against Ateneo de Manila University on Saturday at the Filoil Centre. They will wrap up the second round with games against the University of the East on the 15th and defending champions National University on the 19th.

On the other hand, the Lady Tamaraws suffered their second consecutive loss, dropping to 6-5 and tying with Adamson University for fourth place.

Lovely Lopez led FEU with 16 points and 24 excellent receptions, while Gerzel Petallo made her return after a three-game absence due to a right shoulder injury, contributing 14 points, 18 receptions, and nine digs.

FEU will look to bounce back on Sunday against the University of the Philippines at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

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