The Varsitarian

HOW DO you survive a war? For veteran coach August Santamaria, there is no way but to jump out of the offensive bunker.

Odd as it may sound, the UST Lady Spikers heeded their mentor’s advice and the result bore fruit once more as they overwhelmed the willful San Sebastian Lady Stags, 20-25, 25-23, 27-29, 25-15, 15-9, after suffering a 1-2 set disadvantage in a winner-take-all Game 3 finals match to cop the 4th Shakey’s V-League second conference title last December 4 at The Arena in San Juan.

”I told them (Lady Spikers) not to hesitate to attack San Sebastian’s defense. When we sensed that there is nothing the opponents can do to stop our attackers, that was it,” Santamaria told the Varsitarian. ”This is the full measure of our strength as a team.”

Staring at a 3-3 deadlock in the make-or-break fifth set, the Lady Spikers turned to the attacking troika of finals MVP Venus Bernal, Mary Jean Balse, and guest player Suzanne Roces, who conspired in a vicious 5-0 blast that gave the first conference champions a 9-4 headway.

Not yet out of the woods, UST rattled San Sebastian anew, this time from the service line, as Bernal buried an ace at the heart of the Lady Stags’ defense to push the Lady Spikers at match point, 14-8.

Although Balse blundered on her service, there was no stopping UST’s fated breakaway as Bernal provided the finisher, zipping a powerful smash to the rear end of the fumbling Lady Stags’ court en route to their third V-League title in three years.

Earlier, the Lady Spikers groped for form, yielding a 12-18 first-set lead to the Lady Stags before taking the second frame after San Sebastian rookie China Repollo erred on her serve.

In the pivotal third set however, UST found itself in a bind against the stubborn San Sabastian crew, as Rysablle Devanadera and Laurence Ann Latigay scored the Lady Stags’ last three points to overcome a 26-27 deficit.

But the Lady Spikers were far from over as Bernal and Balse combined in a mind-boggling 8-0 salvo that pushed UST comfortably ahead, 22-11, to clinch the fourth set and arrange the do-or-die finale.

Bernal, who also took the 100+ Tournament Player award led UST with 25 points while Balse and Roces added 24 markers each. On the other hand, Lady Spiker Angeli Tabaquero won the 100+ Sportsmanship award.

Second wind

The Lady Spikers exacted revenge on the Lady Stags in Game 2, winning in straight sets, 25-16, 25-15, 25-21, last December 2 to tie the series at one-game apiece after dropping a five-set thriller in Game 1, 16-25,19-25,25-17,25-23,13-15, last November 28.

Going into the finals, the Lady Spikers grounded the Ateneo Lady Eagles, 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, in a must-win semifinal encounter last November 28.

Roces powered the España-based spikers’ return to the finals with a 20-point explosion against the Lithwat Kesinee-led Lady Eagles, who managed to outgun the twice-to-beat Lady Spikers, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 22-25, in their first semifinal match last November 25.

Prior to the finals, UST absorbed its first loss against San Sebastian at the close of the eliminations, 19-25, 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, last November 23.

The Lady Spikers previously scored back-to-back wins over UAAP rivals De La Salle University (25-17, 25-16, 18-25, 19-25, 15-8) and Adamson University (25-21, 25-17, 25-19) last November 18 and 16, respectively.