MANILA – De La Salle setter Michelle Cobb is the first to admit that she failed to deliver her "A-game" when the Lady Spikers faced their rivals, the Ateneo Lady Eagles, in the UAAP Season 80 women's volleyball tournament yesterday.

The young setter had respectable numbers, tallying six points and 22 excellent sets. Among those points was a massive block on Ateneo's 6-foot-3 open spiker Kat Tolentino that sealed their 25-17 victory in the second set.

Michelle Cobb already has that signature La Salle swag 😎 #UAAPSeason80Volleyball pic.twitter.com/dE8006uy1f

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But she was yanked out of the game by Coach Ramil de Jesus in the third set, as La Salle trailed by as much as 10 points, 11-21. Veteran CJ Saga would help the Lady Spikers make a comeback, before Cobb returned to the game just as they reached match point, 24-22.

Cobb could not get the job done in crunch time, however, as Ateneo wound up scoring four unanswered points to extend the match.

"Hindi nakapag-deliver 'yung setter," de Jesus would say after the game.

Fortunately for the Lady Spikers, they would still go on to win in four sets, 25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20. Kianna Dy was simply spectacular in the win, firing 21 points including seven blocks. As a team, La Salle torched Ateneo for 16 aces. They got great contributions from their open spikers, with Desiree Cheng and Tin Tiamzon combining for 23 points. Their middle blockers were solid as always.

Indeed, the only thing that did not go according to plan for La Salle was Cobb's performance.

"Noong first two sets, andoon (si Cobb) eh," de Jesus said. "Andoon 'yung sabi ko na kalmado. Nito na lang third set, nakita natin na medyo malayo. Tapos sa huli, walang panapos."

Cobb could only breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the game, that they were able to hack out the victory even as she failed to match her teammates' efforts.

"It was supposed to be my A-game," Cobb said afterward. "But then, hindi ko siya natapos ng maayos."

"I wasn't really satisfied with my performance, pero for my teammates talaga, everyone was working," she also said. "Everyone had their A-game, except for me. Pero nakita naman 'yung character ng team."

Cobb knows that she has the trust of her head coach and her teammates, which further adds to her disappointment. Even as de Jesus keeps giving her chances, and her teammates keep giving her good passes, she found herself faltering.

"It's me, it's myself," she admits. "Kasi my teammates passed din in defense, receive, and everything."

She felt doubly bad in the third set, when Saga helped the Lady Spikers rally from 10 points down only to stumble at the finish line.

"Miracle na sana 'yung nangyari," said Cobb. "Pero I wasn't able to follow through."

At the end of the day, Cobb knows that she has to work on eliminating the self-doubt that prevents her from playing well consistently.

"I've been trying to work on myself, being emotionally stable," she explained. "Kasi I've come to this point na… I have to carry myself. Throughout the season, I just want to have zero self doubt."

"Nagawa ko na before, so I can do it," she stressed.

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Cobb wants to repay the trust that de Jesus has placed in her, even as the multi-titled La Salle coach repeatedly harps on her need for improvement.

"I know coach, he trusts me, as in 100 percent," said Cobb. "He makes me feel na 'yun nga, full trust siya sa akin."

"Siguro sa part ko, kailangan ko i-fully understand na ako nga 'yung driver ng team," she added. "But ayun, he makes me feel naman na he trusts me, and I'm forever thankful for that."