MANILA – Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles and De La Salle University Lady Spikers had contrasting wins in the UAAP Season 81 Women’s Volleyball on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Eagles cruised to its 10th consecutive victory after a 25-14, 24-26, 25-17, 25-19 victory over the rookie-laden National University Lady Bulldogs to formalize its entry in the Final Four.
Kat Tolentino and Julia Samonte tallied 13 points each, while Madeleine Madayag added 12 points, including five blocks, for the Lady Eagles, which improved to 10-1 win-loss slate.
The Lady Eagles had a dominant first set where they build a 19-9 lead but the Lady Bulldogs picked up steam late in the second set, forcing a deuce and going to rookie Ivy
Lacsina to level the set count at 1-1.
The Lady Eagles regained its form in the third set as it feasted on Lady Bulldogs’ errors and blocks for a decisive 21-15 lead. In the fourth frame, the Lady Bulldogs were hanging around at 20-18 before committing errors that handed the win to Lady Eagles.
“We can’t be complacent kasi we’re still looking forward. What’s important for us now is to be better and to be ready for future challenges,” said Lady Eagles head coach Oliver Almadro.
The defending champions Lady Spikers, on the other hand, made short work of the hapless Adamson University Lady Falcons, 25-15, 25-18, 25-16, to boost its morale ahead of its match with the Lady Eagles on Saturday.
The Lady Spikers had the lead for most of the match, only letting the Lady Falcons have a 16-15 lead in the second set. The DLSU immediately went on a 7-0 run to quell Adamson’s run and control the rest of the match.
Rookie Jolina Dela Cruz led the way with 13 points, while captain Desiree Cheng added 11 markers for the Lady Spikers, which moved up to second place with 8-3 win-loss slate./PN
