Valdez, Lady Eagles gun for sweep vs Lady Spikers

Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A FEW feats may be at stake when defending champion Ateneo takes on fierce rival La Salle, but the Lady Eagles would rather take things in stride in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament today.

“It’s really a big game,” said Ateneo standout Alyssa Valdez. “But for sure, coach Tai (Bundit) wants us to think that it’s just another game for us. He doesn’t want us to overthink. He just wants us to play and be happy.”

The blockbuster battle fires off at 4:30 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum with the Lady Eagles targeting a sweep of the first round and hoping to stretch their winning run to 25 games since 2014.

A victory over the Lady Spikers will also allow the defending champions to improve their head-to-head battle to 7-0 since March 2014.

“We know they’re very strong, so we’ll really try to keep up with them,” said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus.

Earlier, Adamson tries to close out its first-round campaign with a third victory versus winless University of the East at 12:30 p.m.

Men’s play also features a rematch between last year’s finalists with defending champion Ateneo (5-1) vying to keep a piece of the lead versus National University (4-1) at 10 a.m.

Adamson (5-1) aims to stay on top against University of Santo Tomas (1-4) at 8 a.m.