Lady Eagles, Lady Spikers clinch semifinal incentives

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

BACK in her old position, Amy Ahomiro shone for the second straight game as Ateneo whipped Adamson, 25-16, 25-16, 25-18, to clinch the semifinal bonus in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Ahomiro, last season’s Finals MVP, combined for 31 points with team star Alyssa Valdez as she continued to flourish in her return as middle blocker.

“I’m just trying to enjoy every last moment [and] my time with the team,” said the veteran Ahomiro, who was converted to open spiker, but returned recently to her old spot after Maddie Madayag sustained a knee injury.

La Salle hitter Kim Dy also continued to step up as the Lady Spikers blasted winless University of the East, 25-16, 25-17, 25-11, in the other match.

The victories kept Ateneo and La Salle on top with similar 10-2 slates that assured the fierce rivals the top two berths, which come with a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

Dy paced the Lady Spikers with eight kills, three blocks and three aces in a 14-point effort.

La Salle standout Ara Galang also delivered 12 points, nine off spikes.

Valdez unloaded all of her 16 points off kills to topscore for the Lady Eagles, while Ahomiro tallied half of the team’s eight blocks in a 15-point performance.

In the men’s division, Adamson and National U tripped separate opponents to join defending champion Ateneo in the Final Four.

Michael Sudaria fired 21 points as the Falcons turned back the Warriors, 25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 25-17, for a 9-3 record.

The Bulldogs also improved to 9-4 after downing Far Eastern U, 28-26, 25-18, 25-20, behind Madzian Gampong’s 17-point outing.