Lady Eagles storm past UP volleybelles

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo downed University of the Philippines, 25-20, 25-21, 25-13, for its fourth straight win in UAAP Season 76 women’s volleyball tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan.

Alyssa Valdez had 24 hits, including three service aces, while Amy Ahomiro chipped in 14 points and libero Denden Lazaro collected 11 digs for the Lady Eagles.

Moving up to 4-1 card, Ateneo kept within striking distance of defending champion De La Salle, which is unbeaten in four starts.

National University (NU) also made its presence felt with an otherwise easy 25-18, 25-13, 25-21 victory over University of Santo Tomas (UST), with Dindin Santiago registering 19 points with two blocks and Mina Aganon scoring 14 points.

NU improved to 4-1 to tie Ateneo at second place, while UST, which drew 12 points from Pam Lastimosa, dropped to 2-3.

The Lady Maroons showed some semblance of a fight when they threatened at 21-22 before Valdez and rookie Ana Gopico took charge late in the second frame to give the Katipunan-based tossers a two-set buffer.

Assistant coach Parley Tupaz, who subbed while head coach Anusorn “Tai” Bundit went back for a 10-day tour of duty to his native Thailand, was not satisfied with the way his wards performed, especially in the second set.

“We kept in step with the game of UP. That’s not our game. They relaxed a lot,” said Tupaz, a former national beach volleyball standout. “We had a number of service errors and spikes that did not go over.”

Bundit, who took over from Roger Gorayeb in the off-season, will miss the rest of the first round, including a much-anticipated Jan. 12 duel with La Salle at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Kathy Bersola made 12 points, including four blocks for the Lady Maroons, who stumbled to their fifth consecutive setback.

In men’s play, titleholder NU (5-0) overcame a stubborn Ateneo (2-3), 17-25, 25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 15-9, with Peter Torres leading the way with 18 hits, while reigning MVP Red Christensen had 21 hits and four digs as De La Salle (2-3) turned back UE (0-5), 25-21, 25-16, 25-18.