UAAP Finals: Ateneo rallies past Lady Spikers in five sets, force Game 3

The DLSU Lady Spikers fell short in Game 2 of the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Volleyball Finals against the Ateneo Lady Eagles, falling in five sets, 18-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16, 15-11, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Player of the Game honors went to ADMU team captain Alyssa Valdez, as she led her team with a game-high 34 points on 32 attacks. Jhoana Maraguinot and Bea De Leon also added 15 and 12 points, respectively. On the other hand, there were four Lady Spikers who scored in double digits, with Kim Dy leading the way with 16 points on 13 attacks. Mika Reyes, Ara Galang, and Cyd Demecillo followed with 14, 12, and 10 points, respectively, to round out the DLSU double-figure scorers.

“Mind over matter na ‘to. Kahit masakit, laban pa rin,” said Valdez after the match.

The Lady Spikers opened the scoring of the first set with an open attack from Galang. They proceeded to make an 8-2 run to give themselves a 9-2 advantage in the opening set. Ateneo tried to catch up throughout the set but La Salle protected their lead fiercely. In the end, it was La Salle who drew first blood by taking the first set at 25-18.

The second frame saw the two teams in a tight match early into the set. A service ace from Baron enabled La Salle to go on a 5-2 run to grab the lead, 13-10. However, Ateneo answered back with four consecutive points, catapulted by strong attacks to give them the advantage, at 14-13. The set continued with La Salle trailing behind ADMU until set point. Unforced errors haunted the Lady Eagles late in the set, however, which put them at breakpoint, 26-all. Galang and Dy scored back-to-back points to give DLSU the second set, 28-26.

Similar to the previous frame, the third set started with a a close match ensuing between the two rivals. At 7-all, De Leon and Valdez worked together on an 8-1 run to take the lead, 15-8. La Salle answered with a 6-3 run on three consecutive blocks and a quick attack from Reyes to cut Ateneo’s lead to three, 17-14. The Lady Spikers tried to catch up, but ADMU kept their lead until the end of the set. An open spike from Therese Marie Gaston ended the third set at 25-17, in favor of Ateneo.

At the start of the fourth set, the two teams went toe-to-toe against each other, not letting the other team gain a huge advantage. However, Ateneo went on a 7-1 run to grab a six-point lead. La Salle tried to cut the lead but multiple errors prevented them from making strong runs. Eventually, Ateneo got the set after a couple of errors made by La Salle, 25-16.

With the match on the line, both teams executed various plays in hopes of getting the advantage first. At 5-all, Ateneo started to pull away as they scored two points for every point La Salle made to give themselves an 11-7 lead. The Lady Spikers answered with a couple of quick attacks and an ace from Reyes to cut the lead to two, 12-10. However, the Lady Eagles kept their lead and eventually won the set and match, 15-11.

In terms of team statistics, the Lady Eagles topped in the number of attacks with 63 excellent attacks against La Salle’s 47. On the other hand, the Lady Spikers outperformed Ateneo in the two other scoring categories as they finished with nine blocks and eight aces against ADMU’s six blocks and seven aces.

Prior to the match, three Lady Spikers were given special awards for their excellent performance during the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Volleyball elimination round. Team captain Kim Fajardo and MaJoy Baron were awarded as the Best Setter and Best Blocker, respectively, while Dawn Macandili was given the Best Receiver and Best Digger awards. On the other hand, Lady Eagle Valdez was awarded as the season’s MVP for the third straight year.

Ateneo and La Salle will go against each other for the last time this season in the decisive Game 3 on Saturday, April 30, at 4 pm in the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City.