Ateneo, La Salle out to keep UAAP volleyball top position

Alyssa Valdez with a spiker. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Bracing for another bold challenge, Ateneo and La Salle try to stay poised behind their veterans in a bid to retain a share of the top spot versus separate foes in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament Wednesday.

“It’s anybody’s ball game,” said Ateneo star Alyssa Valdez. “It’s an interesting season so we have to prepare [for] every team.”

The Lady Eagles take on Far Eastern University at 2 p.m., while the Lady Spikers battle National U at 4 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena.

Just last weekend, both the Lady Eagles and the Lady Spikers needed to overcome gruelling stretches before pulling off separate wins against two teams that finished in the bottom four last year.

The victories gave the Lady Eagles and the Lady Spikers—the two finalists in the last four seasons—a share of the early lead at 2-0.

Valdez unloaded 23 points to lift the defending champions past a resilient University of Santo Tomas, 25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 25-15.

FEU coach Shaq delos Santos knows it will take a lot from the Lady Tamaraws to pull off an upset over the Lady Eagles.

“We have to be smart and we have to be 100 percent focused, mentally and physically,” said Delos Santos, who’s banking on Bernadeth Pons, Toni Rose Basas, Remy Palma and Heather Guino-o.

The Lady Tamaraws try to follow up on their 25-18, 25-11, 21-25, 25-14 triumph over University of the East, while the Lady Bulldogs also aim to build on their first win over Adamson, 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20.

NU coach Roger Gorayeb knows that his Lady Bulldogs also need to match the energy of the Lady Spikers led by fiery hitter Ara Galang, who’s back from injury.