Lady Spikers, Eagles start ‘best-of-3’ duel

MANILA, Philippines - Now on equal footing, three-peat champion La Salle and upset-conscious Ateneo mix it up again today to dispute the pivotal edge in their showdown for the UAAP Season 76 women’s volleyball crown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Lady Eagles stunned the previously unblemished Lady Spikers last Wednesday, 17-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-0, to take away DLSU’s thrice-to-beat advantage and reduce the series to a virtual best-of-three affair.

DLSU coach Ramil de Jesus hopes his embattled wards will pass their “test of character” in the all-important game at 4 p.m. and summon back the deadly form that made them peerless in the elims and in 30 matches overall since last year.

“It’s just one of two things: We bounce back from this setback or we don’t. It’s up to us to show what stuff our team is made of,” De Jesus said in Filipino.

“We have to double our efforts and not get content. We have to dish out more than we did during the elims,” he added.

The rookie-laden Lady Eagles aim to come in with the same intensity and energy as in Game One as they bid to move forward with their improbable run this season.

“We’re up against La Salle and we know what they’re capable of. Definitely, we have to spend double-time on training, try to lessen our errors. Hopefully, we’ll play even better in the second game. We’ll be there fighting, that’s what I can promise,” said Ateneo skipper Alyssa Valdez, who is set to be named season MVP during the pre-game individual award rites at 3:30 p.m.

Ateneo and La Salle actually stand on familiar grounds, having been on a similar situation in a previous titular duel in 2012. The La Sallians swept the 14-game elims that time for an automatic finals slot and thrice-to-beat advantage. They dropped the first game to the Lady Eagles but charged back strong to win the next two en route to the title.

The Lady Eagles seek to write a different ending this time, especially heart and soul Valdez, who was part of that losing crew.

“More or less we know what to do this time - stay focused and improve even more. The series is far from over,” said Valdez, who expects to get support from rookie Michelle Morente, Amy Ahomiro, Ella de Jesus, and setter Julia Morado.

For La Salle to return to the winning track, it is imperative to serve and receive a lot better than it did last Wednesday.

“We had many service errors last game and those slowed us down, stopped our momentum,” said De Jesus, whose wards committed 26 errors in all. “We also had difficulty receiving against the No. 1 team in service, thereby losing good chances at quick attack.”

De Jesus also looks forward to a better game from captain Abi Maraño, who was hardly a factor in Game One, as well as Ara Galang, Mika Reyes and setter Kim Fajardo.