Ateneo stuns top seed Army in five sets

MANILA, Philippines—Michelle Morente scored on five straight service aces in a crucial stretch as Ateneo stunned top seed Philippine Army, 25-19, 19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14, to breath life into its semifinals bid Tuesday in the Shakey’s V-League Season 11 Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

Morente scored 18 points with 10 aces, five more than the whole Lady Troopers.

The second-year spiker Morente fired five straight aces that erased Army’s 9-5 lead in the fifth set.

Alyssa Valdez pumped in 28 points to lead the Lady Eagles, who have yet to drop a game in four quarterfinal matches, while Amy Ahomiro had 19.

But despite the win, Ateneo still needs to beat also-ran National University, which came back from two sets down to upset Cagayan earlier, on Thursday and hope that the Lady Rising Suns will drop their last two games to gain a semis seat.

“I’m so proud of my teammates. We’re hoping that we can continue this,” said skipper Valdez.

Semifinals-bound Army moved at match point, 14-13, after a service error by Ahomiro but the Lady Troopers couldn’t shake off their problems at the receiving end as Julia Morado pounced on it with two consecutive aces.

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