MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo finally figured out a way to stop La Salle’s formidable attack and put the UAAP women’s volleyball finals on equal terms.
The Lady Eagles rallied past the erstwhile unbeaten Lady Archers, 23-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-17, Wednesday to reduce the finals into a race-to-two affair at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Eagles proved resolute on defense while turning to the trio of Angeline Gervacio, Fille Cainglet and Alyssa Valdez on attack in key stretches to hand the Lady Archers their first loss of the season.
“We executed the game plan well,” said Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb in Filipino. “This is just one win and we only managed to even the series.”
La Salle, which finished the elimination round with a 14-0 card, has a thrice-to-beat edge in the finals. The Lady Archers need to win twice while the Lady Eagles need to win thrice to nail the crown.
Earlier, Far Eastern U moved on the cusp of a men’s volleyball crown after repulsing La Salle, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20, 26-24, in their own best-of-three series.
Jay-R Labrador finished with 20 points to lead the Tamaraws.
The Lady Archers have not lost to the Lady Eagles in more than four years and posted a pristine 14-0 record in the elimination round that gave them a thrice-to-beat edge in the finals.
Meanwhile, National University and Ateneo begin their best-of-three series for the Season 74 baseball title Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.