UAAPS77 Women's Semis: What La Salle Needs To Stay Alive

The twice-to-beat advantage of De La Salle University was nullified last Wednesday when NU beat them in straight sets to force a do-or-die match today. Stats for the previous match below:

It's clear from the numbers above what made the difference - NU's dominance in all offensive stops (including kill blocks) overwhelmed La Salle's defense. La Salle's digging is their main pitfall - although they have out-dug the Lady Bulldogs in excellent digs per set and dig conversion (these two metrics mainly measure how many of their successful attacks came from successful digs), their dig rate% is at a dismal 63%, far from their season average of 76.8%. This means that they were able to dig NU's attacks only 63% of the time - their digs and dives are not enough to keep the ball alive during rallies, which bumps up NU's attacking %. Furthermore, La Salle's offense mainly comes from in-system plays (exc sets 9.33 vs NU's 6.67, first ball offense% 28% vs NU's 21%), but they are unable to capitalize on this because NU gets points even from non-excellent plays - a testament to their attacking prowess. Remember that volleyball uses a rally point system - any point is gold, whether it be coming from in-system plays or not. What La Salle needs to do this afternoon is to hustle - they need to produce points from all corners, and keep in mind that mid-game adjustments to an offensive system is needed, especially facing NU's rejuvenated team (with momentum on their side as well).

Keys to the Match - De La Salle University

• Offense should have more power so as to startle the opponent and force them to commit errors. In their previous matches, La Salle was able to win because they force their opponents to commit more errors than them.
• However, they shouldn't just be dependent upon NU's errors for their points. More importantly, they should be efficient in attacking as much as possible. In the previous game, La Salle was down to an attack efficiency of only 13%, very far from their season average of 22.1% - they can't depend solely on excellent sets, they need to get points from any opportunity possible.

Keys to the Match - National University

• Continue receiving opponent's serve well so as to set up attacks without distractions
• NU's biggest improvement in the semis is their ability to efficiently play the ball by not committing errors. In the previous game, their error weight (error to point contribution) is down to just 25%, while their season average was at 46.0% . This is crucial especially when trying to side-out on tied scores.

Prediction: NU with momentum on their side, if they get more point contributions from attacks than La Salle. However, knowing La Salle's recovery, NU's momentum can be a non-factor.

Read More

UAAPS77 Men's Finals: Ateneo vs NU

The first match of the finals series was a doozy for Ateneo de Manila fans as they were able to win it in 4 sets versus the defending champions National University. Stats summary for the first match below:

As you can see above, Ateneo has dominated the game in almost all skills. Biggest advantages for Ateneo are their attacks and passes: AttackEff% for Ateneo at 29%, even higher than their eliminations average of 27%, and their passing% at 89%. Although Ateneo commits more service errors per set (4.25 vs 2.00), their seemingly inconsistent (i.e. error prone) service shouldn't be taken lightly: the fact that they have more aces per set means that they are being aggressive on the serve - Ateneo's main strategy is to take control of the rally via strong serves so that the opponent cannot set up good plays for their attackers, which is why NU's passing% is only at 77%, and can also explain why they have fewer excellent sets (12.75 vs Ateneo's 14.25) and therefore attacks (49 atks vs Ateneo's 64). NU's offense suffered because their floor defense cannot hold, and they should address it this game. For Ateneo, they just need to keep doing what they've been doing in the first game, but be wary of relaxing as they will be facing of a more compelled NU team.

Keys to the Match - National University

• Passing efficiency shouldn't be below 30% - it is imperative that they must receive the ball better, not just to avoid giving opponent service aces, but for their own benefit as well to gain back momentum as well as better chances of getting a side out. In the elimination rounds, their average passeff% for won games was 30.2%, and 25.3% for lost games.
• Point contribution of the team from atks, blks and aces should be at least 70% of total points won - in other words, they need to be able to take control of the game. In the game 1 of the finals, their point contribution was only at 62.8%, which means 37.2% of their won points came from opponent errors, which is a fatal mistake to make in volleyball - you cannot just rely on opponent errors to win a game.

Keys to the Match - Ateneo de Manila University

• Continue to be aggressive on the serve. Despite committing more errors, they won the games where the team took more risk on the service line.
• Floor defense should persist throughout the match, so that they could set up their attacks well.

Prediction: Ateneo, if NU cannot make the necessary adjustments in their floor defense.

Read More

UAAPS77 Women’s Stepladder: UST vs FEU Playoff

Another season, another stepladder series in the Women's Division. This year, however, the 4th spot is tied between 2 teams, and so a playoff is needed before a knockout match vs NU will be completed. Then the winner will be facing twice-to-beat La Salle, then the defending champions Ateneo who is thrice-to beat. First off, let's check out how the UST-FEU playoff match will take place.

---

Offense

Offense	UST	FEU
Spike	5	4	FEU
Atk Eff%	15%	16%
1stBall Off%	13%	11%
Serve	5	3	FEU
Ace per set	1.28	1.57
Fault/set	2.12	1.64
% Good Srv	90%	93%
Srv Eff %	-4%	0%
Set	3	6	UST
Exc Set /set	7.80	6.02
Off Eff %	72%	54%

FEU is currently in the the top 4 of both ranks in attacking and serving, registering an attack efficiency of 16% as well as a high good serve % of 93% (they commit service errors only 7% of the time). UST however has better setting, being the third best in the league, with 72% of their successful attacks coming off excellent plays from Alex Cabanos. Note that excellent plays are only good if the team is able to convert them, therefore UST's offense should not just be based attacks from plays but on all other possible avenues as well, such as service aces, which FEU is currently third best in the league. If FEU can keep up their attacking % as well as be aggressive on the serve, this will be for their benefit.

Defense

Defense	UST	FEU
Block	2	5	UST
Rebound %	33%	31%
Dig	3	5	UST
Digs per set	8.60	8.26
Dig Conv	23%	22%
Dig Rate %	83%	83%
Pass	5	6	UST
Pass Eff%	16%	13%
Adj Pass Eff%	84%	86%
Passing %	84%	85%

UST's main gun other than their playmaking will be their defense. On all defensive skills, they are on top of FEU, especially in blocking, where they are currently 2nd best in the league (behind La Salle). If they can improve on their passing skills this game (passing% very close to FEU), UST can handle FEU's serves, which will also let them set-up better plays for their attackers. FEU's very dismal defense is due to it mainly being handled by one person, star libero Tin Agno - FEU's other backrow players need to help and dig/receive the ball well enough for them to keep the play alive.

---

Keys to the match:

UST

• Take advantage of their biggest edge over FEU which is blocking.
• Hustle on attacks and try to score the same amount as the opponent if not more. They need to be able to get points not just from blocks but on attacks as well.

UST	WON	LOST	AVE
PT DIFF/SET	4.08	-2.40	2.21
FROM OWN EFFORTS	4.57	-1.93	2.69
FROM ERRS	-0.49	-0.47	-0.48

FEU

• Service game should start strong, so that the opponent will have a harder time setting up better plays for their attackers.
• Be aggressive on all skills. FEU lost games in the eliminations due to their opponents' efforts in atks, blks and aces overwhelming FEU's own contributions. They should be able to score more on all offensive options as much as possible.

FEU	WON	LOST	AVE
PT DIFF/SET	0.88	-3.32	-1.89
FROM OWN EFFORTS	1.63	-4.16	-2.19
FROM ERRS	-0.75	0.84	0.30

Prediction: UST if they can overcome FEU's attacks with their own and be steady in their defense, both floor and net. Momentum is on the side of FEU however.

Read More