Ateneo, La Salle begin UAAP volley title clash

LA SALLE vies to showcase its full strength anew when the Lady Archers battle rival Ateneo in Game 1 of the UAAP women’s volleyball championship today.

Riding on a remarkable 14-game winning streak, the Lady Archers aim to zero in on their bid for a third straight crown in the 4 p.m. match where another huge crowd is expected to fill Smart Araneta Coliseum to the rafters.

“We’re ready for the championship,” said La Salle’s sophomore star Mika Reyes. “We’ve always been working on our organized blocking, which is our team’s strength.”

In men’s action, defending champion Far Eastern University also seeks to claim the opener against National University in their own best-of-three finals series at 2 p.m.

La Salle coasted to the title round with a sweep of National University, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18, in last week’s Final Four. Ateneo also triumphed in straight sets, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24, against Adamson in the semifinals.

Ateneo top scorer Alyssa Valdez said the looming graduation of its core players—including team stars Fille Cainglet, Gretchen Ho and Dzi Gervacio—has been among the team’s motivation to spoil La Salle’s bid.

“We’ve set our mind on how hard we work in practice,” said Valdez. “We also have five players who are graduating, so we kept reminding ourselves that this is for our seniors.”