MANILA — Adamson University battled through a testy opener en route to a 29-27, 25-21, 25-18 sweep of Lyceum of the Philippines University in the 2026 Shakey's Super League (SSL) Unity Cup on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The Lady Falcons weathered a tough challenge from the Lady Pirates in the first two sets before cruising in the third to begin their Pool D campaign on a bright note.
The Adamson Lady Falcons celebrate a point against Lyceum in the 2026 Shakey's Super League Unity Cup on September 25, 2026 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Handout/Shakey's
Joy Aseo finished with eight points on six kills, one kill block and an ace while Red Bascon, Abegail Segui and Third Tuddao added seven markers each for Adamson. Meanwhile, Frances Mordi posted six points, Janna Dizon got five while Kamille Dionisio scored four of her five markers on kill blocks.
Star spiker Shaina Nitura is still not seeing action for Adamson after a grueling tour of duty for Alas Pilipinas in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Adamson was sluggish in the opening frame and played catch-up. The Lady Falcons saved three set points before Mordi landed an ace to put Adamson on top, 25-24.
Back-to-back errors by Aseo surrendered the set point advantage to Lyceum, 27-26. Adamson exploited Ashley Muchillas' costly service error, putting the set away with a Mordi off-speed hit followed by an Aseo kill.
Adamson then shattered a 20-20 second set deadlock with a closing 5-l run to take a 2-0 match lead.
"Bad start talaga sa aming lahat and alam namin sa sarili namin yun. Habang nasa labas (ng court) nag-reflect kaming lahat. Isang adjustment rin namin ay maging alive and mag-smile sa game," Tuddao said.
With momentum on their side, Adamson raced to a 5-0 lead in the third and widened the gap to 19-9 on its way to victory in the one-hour, 40-minute match.
Muchillas paced the Lady Pirates with 13 points on 12 kills and a kill block while Roxie Dela Cruz and Sarah Lumbang added six and five points, respectively.
Lyceum will try to bounce back on Sunday against University of the East.
Mapua celebrates a point against Jose Rizal University in the 2026 Shakey's Super League Unity Cup on September 25, 2026 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Handout/Shakey's
In the second game, Mapua University dominated Jose Rizal University, 25-21, 25-14, 25-21, for a strong start in Pool B.
Raissa Ricablanca fired 10 of her 11 points on kills to lead the Lady Cardinals to a quick 90-minute victory.
She got plenty of help, with Freighanne Garcia chipping in nine points, Franchesca Esteban scoring seven markers, and Diandrah Yabut and Juliana Estudillo adding five points each for Mapua, which got 23 points off the Lady Bombers' errors.
"Sobrang importante ng game na ito and ito yung first league namin ito after NCAA. Sobrang importante nito sa buong team at mga bago naming players sa team," Garcia said.
Nicole Deala's 16 points she collected from 14 attacks, a kill block and an ace went down the drain for JRU. Czarina Ramos added eight in a lost cause.