Ateneo displayed its maturity against a stubborn University of the East (UE) en route to a 25-14, 25-21, 25-21 victory yesterday in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Lady Eagles faced stiff competition against the Lady Warriors, but was able to keep their composure to tighten their grip of the second spot.
It was Ateneo’s third straight victory and fourth triumph in the season out of five outings.
Almost everybody contributed a little of everything for the Lady Eagles as coach Tai Bundit shuffled his stalwarts, with Michelle Morente topscoring with 13 points built on 10 kills and three aces.
Bea De Leon contributed 11 points, 10 coming from attacks, while Jia Morado posted 35 excellent sets apart from finishing with six points.
“Kapag tingnan mo yung UE, malalaki eh. Kaya ginawan namin ng mga combination plays para mas makaatake kami,” said Ateneo assistant coach Sherwin Meneses.
“Kapag hindi ka naglaro nang maganda against UE, talagang lalabanan ka nila,” he added.
Ateneo showed its force at the start of the match after pulling away from a 13-all tie by scoring 12 of the last 13 points for the first-set win, as well as in the second frame, where it scored the last four points from a 21-all deadlock.
UE was able to gain the 16-14 upperhand in the third, but Ateneo attacked the net at all angles to seal the win in its favor.
UE absorbed its fifth straight loss in as many matches despite Shaya Adorador and Mary Ann Mendrez finishing 11 points apiece.
In men’s play, Adamson (1-4) bested La Salle (1-4), 26-24, 24-26, 25-20, 28-26, while defending champion Ateneo (5-0) kept its record unblemished with a 25-17, 25-13, 25-22 win over UE (0-5).
It was a double whammy for La Salle as key player Raymark Woo hurt his left knee from a bad landing in a suspected Acute Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury.
Woo, however, would have to undergo tests for further assessment, although he previous had an ACL injury on the same knee two years ago.
In the other game, La Salle dumped a hapless Adamson, 25-12, 25-16, 25-15, to join rival Ateneo at second place with a 4-1 card.