Lady Eagles complete sweep; Pirates advance

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo recovered from a third-set setback to turn back a hard-luck San Sebastian side, 25-13, 25-11, 24-26, 25-22, and complete its sweep of Group A even as Lyceum clinched the third quarterfinal berth with a 25-17, 25-20, 25-22 victory over Far Eastern U in the Shakey’s V-League first conference at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan yesterday.

Thai import Lithawat Kesinee fired 23 hits, including a season-high nine blocks, while fellow guest player Alyssa Valdez backed her up with 22 points, highlighted by six service winners, as the Lady Eagles gathered momentum with a 4-0 slate heading into the quarterfinal round slated after the Holy Week break.

“We played well in the first two sets but we disintegrated in the third,” said Ateneo mentor Charo Soriano. “We wanted to a post commanding win (straight sets) but we can only hope for the best. I’m glad they were able to regain their form in the fourth set.”

Fille Cainglet, who finished with 19 points, atoned for an attacking error as she delivered the match-winning kill to end the one-hour, 27-minute encounter.

Joy Cases and Dahlia Cruz combined for 25 attacks and pooled 29 hits while Marie Casanova took charge of the team’s net defense with seven blocks before winding up with 10 points for the Lady Pirates, who closed out their elims stint with a 2-2 card.

That proved enough to put them into the Last 8 while sending the Lady Tams into a do-or-die match with the Lady Stags for the last seat in the league sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza.

The losses dropped FEU and SSC to 0-3. The Lady Tams and the Stags dispute the last QF seat next Sunday.

The Lady Tams tried to hang on in the third set as they battled the Pirates to a close game until Cases and Cruz stepped up to deliver the goods for Lyceum.

The tournament, organized by Sports Vision, is backed by Mikasa as official ball and Accel as official outfitter.

Rachel Anne Daquis had 10 kills and wound up with 13 points while May Morada finished with 10 hits for FEU.

Former two-time MVP Mary Jean Balse, Jamie Peña and Ann Tabafunda cmbined for 19 points for the Pirates, who lorded it over in spikes, 38-28, blocks 10-7, and service, 10-5, to underscore their domination of the Lady Tams.

Rosemarie Vargas added eight points while guest player Wenneth Eulalio added seven points, including three blocks, for the Morayta-based squad.