Lady Eagles thwart Warriors, stay unbeaten

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo flashed its “heart-strong” character anew, clawing back from a 12-point deficit in the third to complete a straight-set victory over gritty University of the East, 25-22, 25-17, 26-24, and zero in on a sweep of the UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball elims yesterday at the Filoil Arena.

The Lady Eagles had to get out of a deep hole against UE (0-13), wiping out a 3-15 deficit and thwarting UE from securing set point from a 24-21 count en route to posting their 13th straight win and moving one victory away from an outright finals berth with thrice-to-beat advantage.

 “As captain, I’m really happy that my teammates didn’t give up. Coach Tai (Bundit) would have been happy, too, that we lived by our ‘heart-strong’ mantra,” said Ateneo Alyssa Valdez, who led scoring with 14 points and had eight digs.

It was good workout for the Lady Eagles before gunning for a 14-0 record against rival La Salle on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The DLSU Lady Spikers also primed up for their much-anticipated second-round encounter with AdMU by picking up their 12th win in 13 outings at the expense of Adamson, 25-13, 25-15, 25-17.

Ara Galang punched in 20 markers with eight digs as the La Sallians disposed of the Lady Falcons (5-7) in one hour and 14 minutes preparatory to the Big Game.

“I was telling them this game (against AdU) will be some sort of a gauge of our readiness (against Ateneo). The team played to my expectations and I hope we can build on this for Wednesday,” said DLSU coach Ramil de Jesus.

Ateneo found itself pushed to the limit by an upset-conscious UE.

After yielding the first two sets, the Lady Warriors came to life and strung up eight unanswered points to take a 15-3 lead. The UE volleybelles looked ready to wrap up the set and force a fourth frame when Ella de Jesus’ error gave them their 24th point but the Ateneans, with de Jesus and Amy Ahomiro on the attack, caught up at 24-all.