Lady Eagles seek 9th victory vs Lady Falcons

UNBEATEN defending champion Ateneo may be heavily favored, but the squad thinks Adamson plays better than what its record shows in UAAP women’s volleyball.

So Ateneo star Alyssa Valdez wants to make sure the Lady Eagles won’t let their guard down in their bid for a ninth straight win against the skidding Lady Falcons in the 4 p.m. match today at Mall of Asia Arena.

“Adamson always gives its opponent a good fight,” said Valdez. “As usual, coach Tai [Bundit] has a plan and I hope it will work.”

National University also tries to strengthen its hold of solo third versus resurgent University of Santo Tomas in the other match at 2 p.m.

A victory will assure the Lady Eagles at least a playoff for the Final Four. But if they end up sweeping the eliminations, the current solo leader will jump straight to the Finals.

But Valdez said the Lady Eagles have been focused more on improving their game, than their perfect record.

“We hope to correct our mistakes from our last game,” said Valdez, the reigning MVP who fired 20 points in Ateneo’s 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 nipping of the NU Lady Bulldogs last Sunday.

Adamson coach Sherwin Meneses hopes his Lady Falcons, near the bottom with a 3-5 card, can still recover behind Mylene Paat and Amanda Villanueva.

“Hopefully we can still adjust,” said Meneses. “I trust my team that they can still win.”

The Lady Bulldogs, meanwhile, go for a fifth triumph against a UST side that rebounded from a five-game skid with back-to-back wins.

“From a 2-5 card, we hope we can get five wins or more,” said UST coach Odjie Mamon, who hopes to sustain their turnaround behind Carmela Tunay, Ria Meneses, Pam Lastimosa and rookie EJ Laure.