Focus on top hitters as Ateneo, UST face off

Games today?(The Arena, San Juan)

8 a.m. – ADMU vs UP (men’s)

10 a.m. – UST vs NU (men’s)

2 p.m. – UP vs DLSU (women’s)

4 p.m. – UST vs ADMU (women’s)

MANILA, Philippines - Alyssa Valdez and EJ Laure face off for the first time as spearheads of their respective schools as Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas collide today in the UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball at The Arena in San Juan.?       

Both products of multi-titled UST high school, Valdez and Laure have turned out to be league’s top hitters, guaranteeing a thrilling duel on the net in the featured 4 p.m. encounter.

“As a young player, she’s already strong and powerful. I’m happy and proud of her. But there’s no comparison, we are from the same high school,” said Valdez in downplaying their keenly-awaited matchup.

The Lady Eagles are actually playing their final game for the year as they will fly for Palembang, Indonesia tomorrow to compete as part of Team UAAP-Philippines delegation for the ASEAN University Games.        ?      

But while Ateneo looked awesome in its sweep of its first three games, UST appeared out of sync with a 1-2 start.

League-leading scorer Ara Galang, meanwhile, seeks to continue her impressive play as De La Salle takes on an inspired University of the Philippines side at 2 p.m.       

La Salle mentor Ramil de Jesus knows that UP is no pushover.        ?       

Behind Nicole Tiamzon, Angeli Araneta and Kathy Bersola, the Lady Maroons broke into the win column by stunning the Tigresses, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, last Wednesday.       

“UP is also a tough team so we need to polish our game,” said de Jesus.

The Lady Maroons are ready to give Galang and the rest of the Lady Spikers a run for their money.         ?       

“La Salle is strong but we want to show that this UP team is a different one,” said coach Jerry Yee. 

In men’s division, titleholder NU, seeking to extend its perfect run to four games, battles UST at 10 a.m., right after the Ateneo-UP clash at 8 a.m.   ?