05 May 2013, 7:12 p.m. – MAIKA Ortiz stepped up when it mattered the most as the UST Lady Spikers outlasted Adamson University, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 16-25, 15-7, in their Shakey’s V-League encounter at The Arena in San Juan Sunday afternoon.
Ortiz dropped four of her 17 points in the deciding frame to repulse the Lady Falcons, who rose from two sets down only to falter in the fifth set.
UST’s Ingrid Reyes scored two straight points to spark a 10-6 run, before Ortiz put the finishing touches with her trademark running spike and give the Lady Spikers a 2-0 record in the quarterfinals.
UST guest player Aiza Maizo chipped in 15 points to steer the Lady Spikers in the first two frames, but was not a factor in the succeeding sets.
Pau Soriano came out big with 25 points as the Lady Falcons turned back UST in the fourth set, 25-16. But the Lady Spikers woke up from slumber early in the fifth set on the combined efforts of Reyes,
Ortiz, and Jessey de Leon to survive Adamson’s relentless offense.
UST will try to move to the semifinals with a clean slate when as it tackles University of Perpetual Help on May 9. Jan Edward B. Ballesteros
