Valdez, Lady Eagles force KO showdown

ATENEO’S Alyssa Valdez, who won the Season 78 MVP trophy before the match, eggs on a teammate. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

ALYSSA Valdez wasn’t going to let her collegiate volleyball career end like this. Not with another straight-sets defeat. Not without a fight.

Her teammates had the same thing in mind.

Teary-eyed and her voice cracking with emotions, Valdez said she felt overwhelmed by the fightback Ateneo assembled from the edge of defeat, as the Lady Eagles rallied from two sets down to force a knockout match for the UAAP women’s colleyball crown.

“We’re just really happy,” said Valdez. “Who wouldn’t get emotional? It was really heartfelt. The team came out fighting. Kinikilabutan ako kasi nakita ko silang lumalaban (I had goosebumps because I saw them fighting.”

Swept off the court in Game 1, Ateneo was headed for the same result with La Salle putting a hand on the trophy after taking the first two sets. But in front of a crowd that broke the 21,000 mark, Valdez spearheaded a rally that gave the Eagles a 18-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16, 15-11 in Game 2 at Mall of Asia Arena.

The feat was the icing on a romp of a day for Ateneo. Hours earlier, the Blue Eagles captured the men’s championship. And before each of the matches, Ateneo’s Marck Espejo and Valdez bagged season MVP trophies in their respective divisions.

“There was pressure individually,” said Valdez. “I guess our teamwork really worked today.”

By all accounts, the Lady Eagles were ripe for collapse. After losing the first set, Ateneo looked ready to earn a breakthrough set win in the series after creating five set points. But La Salle not only survived each of those points, it went on to take the second set.

But Valdez virtually carried the Lady Eagles back to life to finish with a game-high 34 points.

“My body hurts,” Valdez said. “But when you’re there, whatever it is you’re feeling, you’ll just keep on hitting the ball.”

Game 3 is set at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ateneo’s men’s team bagged their trophy by sweeping their own race-to-three affair vs National U, 25-18, 25-20, 25-19, in Game 2.