Alyssa Valdez FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – In the much-anticipated finals rematch of this era’s most popular UAAP volleyball squads, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles swooped down on the De La Salle University Lady Spikers 3-2, 25-22, 25-27, 16-25, 25-14, 15-9, at the Mall of Asia Arena Sunday evening.
Ateneo got their groove together in the fourth and fifth set after errors plagued them throughout the first three.
Capitalizing on a costly error that La Salle committed, the Lady Eagles spread their wings with Ella De Jesus the first to strike giving Ateneo the matchpoint with a glorious hit from the back row, 14-9.
Finishing things off was Bea De Leon with a quick tap that sent the blue crowd in the 18,489 in attendance celebrating.
Ateneo team captain Alyssa Valdez said that their mentor, coach Tai Bundit, would always tell them to “be happy” and play.
“Coach Tai would always remind us to be happy, and that diverts our attention, and the pressure,” Valdez said as they remain the only undefeated team in the tournament with a 7-0 record.
“When we commit error after error he just told us ‘heart strong’ and if you’re a player that would surely lift you up. If he believes in you, why won’t you believe in yourself.”
A total of 41 errors hampered Ateneo in the first three sets, but the two closers saw the defending champions played in a near-perfect groove when they only committed five through the fourth and fifth sets.
Valdez and De Jesus teamed up in the fourth set to send the match to overtime with the latter scoring off an ace to give Ateneo the set point, 24-15, and Valdez sending the game to the fifth set with a strike that bounced off the La Sallian defense.
As they faced their arch nemesis once more, Valdez has all her respect for the Lady Spikers.
“They played the same (when we faced them in the Finals), they never gave up,” Valdez said. “They played well, hands down.”
Valdez was once again on a tear with 26 points while Amy Ahomiro, who was crucial in two final sets, had 13.
Ara Galang had 11 points for the second seeds with the 6-1 record.