Lady Archers target volley sweep, UAAP title

LA SALLE’S Wensh Tiu tries to score past Ateneo’s Jem Ferrer (left) and Gretchen Ho during their Game One duel. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Stoked by its dramatic Game 1 victory, La Salle vows to come out even better when the Lady Archers shoot for a third straight UAAP women’s volleyball championship today.

The Lady Archers, who amazingly rose from two sets down in the series opener, go for a sweep of rival Ateneo in Game 2 of their best-of-three finals at 4 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena.

“We have to concentrate even more, especially with our blocking,” said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus. “In the first two sets (of Game 1), our blocking was disorganized.”

Although the Lady Eagles have put the heartbreaker behind, Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb said  that they’re bracing for a confident La Salle side.

“It’s not over, but it’s a tall order,” Gorayeb said of the Lady Eagles’ bid to extend the series. “La Salle has the psychological advantage against us.”

In men’s action, National University aims to complete its upset of defending champion Far Eastern University in Game 2 of their own title series at 2 p.m.

The Bulldogs also remarkably climbed out of a 0-2 hole to take Game 1, 16-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-17, 15-8, last Saturday.

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for,” said top NU spiker Peter Torres. “We’ve been preparing for this for years. We’ll just give everything, no more slow start.”

The Lady Archers—who forged a thrilling 20-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-6 Game 1 win—also hope to regain their fiery start behind Michelle Gumabao, Ara Galang, Abigail Maraño and Mika Reyes.

“We’re just keeping a positive aura to prepare for the big game,” said Maraño.

Galang fired all of her 17 points on kills in Game 1 and Gumabao added 15 markers in the match that seemed like a repeat of the first-round encounter where the Lady Eagles also blew a 2-0 set advantage.

“It was a bit hard facing the realities of losing, but we had to move on since there’s no time to sulk,” said Gervacio, who in one stretch in Game 1, served three consecutive aces. “Plus, there’s another chance. We have to work harder as a team and show that we want it more than ever.”