Lady Eagles set out to sustain hot volley form

MANILA, Philippines — Believing it can do the improbable one more time, Ateneo tries to get the upperhand in a virtual best-of-three championship series against powerhouse La Salle in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“La Salle team is better but I believe we can win,” said Ateneo’s Thai coach Anusorn “Tai” Bundit, who, despite his limited English, transformed the youthful Lady Eagles to a surprise title contender.

The blockbuster match, expected to draw an even bigger crowd than last Wednesday’s Game 1 shocker, fires off at 4 p.m.

Ateneo star Alyssa Valdez, who is tipped to win the MVP plum in the 3:30 p.m. awarding ceremony, teamed up with rookie Michelle Morente and Amy Ahomiro in powering the Lady Eagles to a huge 17-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-20 upset that snapped the Lady Spikers’ amazing 30-game winning streak.

“Our mindset was we’re good players,” said Morente, who finished with a team-best 17 points. “We just did everything that we could.”

The three-time champion Lady Spikers, unbeaten for two years, headed into the title series toting an intimidating thrice-to-beat advantage after a 14-0 sweep of the eliminations.

Although the loss reduced the series to a best-of-three, La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus thinks it served as a wake-up call for his star-studded crew led by Abigail Maraño, Ara Galang and Mika Reyes.

“We have to double our efforts because it can’t happen again,” said De Jesus. “If we want to win, we have to double whatever we did in the eliminations.”

The Lady Eagles lost most of their veterans to graduation but turned their campaign around mid-season and picked up eight straight victories.

Before stunning the Lady Spikers, the Lady Eagles survived three straight knockout games in the stepladder semifinals, where they overcame the twice-to-beat edge of favored National University.

“We don’t want to pressure ourselves,” said Morente. “We’ll just continue what we’re doing.”

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