The De La Salle Lady Spikers moved closer to defending their crown after taking down the National University Lady Bulldogs in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 80 women's volleyball tournament on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The two-time reigning champions punched their 10th straight finals appearance after pulling off a 27-25, 25-22, 25-11 victory over the Lady Bulldogs.
Kianna Dy, who provided the necessary firepower from the get-go, led all scorers with 17 points. Tin Tiamzon provided eleven markers, while Majoy Baron and Desiree Cheng combined for 17 points.
The Lady Bulldogs began the first set strong, building as much as a 12-7 advantage. Dy came alive midway through the period and strung together four straight points for La Salle that tied the match at 18.
NU worked hard to prevent DLSU from overtaking, and a back row bomb from Jaja Santiago even pushed them to set point. But the Lady Spikers launched a 4-1 run capped by a service ace by Cheng to steal the opener.
"I told the players not to give NU a chance to get their confidence because if they get the first set, we'll have a hard time. It was a huge deficit but the team crawled back," coach Ramil de Jesus said about their come-from-behind Set 1 win.
The second frame continued to be a tight contest but this time, it was La Salle that managed to gain control towards the end. Santiago willed her team to inch within a point, 23-22, but May Luna and Tiamzon were there to fend off NU's comeback attempts.
With a comfortable two-set edge, the Lady Spikers asserted their dominance in the third period. They raced to an 8-1 lead before closing it out with a commanding 25-11 triumph.
Santiago ended her collegiate career with 17 points built on 13 spikes, three blocks, and an ace. No other Lady Bulldog scored in double-digits.
The Lady Spikers look to secure their 11th UAAP title when they battle with the FEU Lady Tamaraws in a best-of-three championship series that start on Saturday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.