Skippers key UAAP archrivals unbeaten runs

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle captain Ara Galang and Ateneo skipper Alyssa Valdez have been dishing out solid numbers as they spearheaded their respective squads to unbeaten records before the UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball tourney went on its holiday break.

Galang, a former co-MVP, emerged as the league’s top scorer so far and figured in the Top 5 in three other statistical areas, leading the Lady Spikers to a 5-0 start.

Galang punched in a leading 105 points built on 82 spikes, 13 blocks and 10 aces to show the way in scoring.

She also ranked third in service with an average of 0.59 per set and took fourth spot in two aspects – spike with 37.79 efficiency rate and block with 0.76 average per set.

Galang was likewise the eighth-best receiver with 16.46 percent efficiency and No. 9 in digs with 2.06.

For her part, Season 76 MVP Valdez paced the spike and serve categories as she towed the defending champion Lady Eagles to four consecutive victories in the UAAP before flying to Palembang, Indonesia for the Asean University Games, where they took the bronze.

Valdez, the second leading scorer of the season, connected on 68 of her 150 total attempts for a league-topping 45.33 percent in spike and averaged 0.83 serve per set with 10 aces, five faults and 42 serve hits off a total of 58 attempts.

Meanwhile, La Salle tower Mika Reyes topped the block department with an average of 1.0 by set, highlighting this with 17 kill blocks, 45 rebounds and 16 faults.

Adamson’s Marlene Cortel lorded it in digging, averaging 3.29 digs by set while AdMU’s Julia Morado and Ella de Jesus were the boss in setting (10.67 average by set) and receiving (43.48 percent efficiency), respectively.