Blue Eagles, Tamaraws hack out five-set wins in UAAP men’s volleyball

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo and Far Eastern University hacked out separate five-set wins Wednesday in the UAAP men’s volleyball tournament at the Arena in San Juan.

FEU recovered from a beating in the second and third sets to shut down University of Santo Tomas, 25-16, 13-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13, in the first game.

Karl Ian Dela Calzada had a game-best 23 points, all but two off kills, for the Tamaraws, who improved to 7-2 and built a one-game lead over Ateneo at number two.

Mark Gil Alfafara’s 22 points was for naught as the Golden Spikers dropped to 4-5 but stayed in fourth place.

The Blue Eagles, meanwhile, scored one anew over rival La Salle, 25-21, 26-28, 12-25, 25-19, 15-9, for a 6-3 card.

Marck Jesus Espejo, who notched a career-high the last time these two teams met, reprised the hero role and churned out 25 points.

The Green Archers drew a team-best 20 points from Raymark Woo, but they still couldn’t figure out a way to stun the Blue Eagles.

Ateneo also defeated La Salle in five sets last January 11.