Lady Eagles upstage Chiefs, move to semis

Games today

12:45 p.m. – St. Benilde vs National U

3 p.m. – La Salle-Dasma vs FEU

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo swept Arellano U, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19, in a duel of collegiate champs as the Lady Eagles soared to their fifth straight win and into the semifinals of the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Collegiate Conference at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

Alyssa Valdez fired 20 hits while Amy Ahomiro added 13 points and Kim Gequillano tossed in seven as the reigning UAAP champions made it look easy against the embattled Chiefs, peppering the NCAA titlists with 41 kills and taking the win in just 47 minutes of power play.

Dropping to 2-3, Arellano is in danger of missing the Final Four with the Lady Chiefs needing to sweep their last two matches against La Salle-Dasmariñas and St. Benilde and hope that any from UST, NU and FEU won’t go over four wins to salvage a playoff for the fourth and last semis seat.

Unrelenting in attacks, the Lady Eagles also proved unforgiving in defense, scoring six blocks while frustrating Arellano hitters all game with superb digs and reception. Danna Henson and Menchie Tubiera topscored for AU with forgettable five and four hits, respectively, with the Lady Chiefs producing just 17 attacks.

Earlier, guest player Carla Sandoval stepped up in the decider, scoring all her three hits as University of Santo Tomas repulsed University of the Philippines, 18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 17-25, 15-9, to assure itself of at least a playoff for a semis slot.

Meanwhile, National U and Far Eastern U try to tie UST at second as they battle St. Benilde and La Salle-Dasmariñas, respectively, in today’s resumption of the quarters action in the league where it all started.

The Lady Bulldogs clash with the Lady Blazers in the 12:45 p.m. opener to be shown live on GMA News TV Channel 11 while the Lady Tams tangle with the Lady Patriots at 3 p.m.

Pushed to the limit by the young but a hard-fighting UP crew, the Tigresses leaned on their experience and used a strong start in the fifth set to wrest control, 5-1 and 7-3, then fended off the Lady Maroons’ repeated rallies with Sandoval knocking down two in a 4-0 UST roll that virtually put the six-time champions beyond reach at 13-6.