Lady Eagles clip Lady Falcons, near 6th straight semis

MANILA, Philippines -- Defending champion Ateneo overcame a game Adamson University side, 25-21, 17-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-10, to move closer in capturing its sixth straight semifinals appearance in the UAAP Season 77 women's volleyball tournament Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Rediscovering the form that won three of the first five matches this season. the Lady Falcons got their solid attacking game and defense going that dragged the Lady Eagles to a five-setter.

Ateneo used its poise under pressure, rallying from an early 2-4 deficit behind Valdez, Jia Morado, Ella de Jesus and Amy Ahomiro to extend its winning streak to nine matches.

"They (Adamson) always give a good fight, as in everytime since I started playing college volleyball. Yung defense nila, as in super superb talaga," said Valdez, who fired a season-high 30 points and collected 14 digs to pace the Lady Eagles.

Earlier, University of Santo Tomas forged a four-way jam from third to sixth places as the Tigresses booked their third straight victory with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-18 victory over National University.

UST improved to 4-5 to tie its victims, as well as idle squads National University and Far Eastern University, muddling further the race for the last two semifinals slots.

The Lady Falcons have now lost four straight matches as they dropped to seventh spot with a 3-6 card.

Rookie Cherry Rondina continued to be the bundle of joy for the Tigresses, as the Cebu native led all scorers with 15 points, including two blocks.

"Umaangat kami at maganda ang mindset ng mga bata na nananalo sila," said UST mentor Odjie Mamon.

The Tigresses used their balanced attack once more, as skipper Pam Lastimosa and Carmela Tunay had eight hits apiece, while EJ Laure and Ria Meneses tossed in six markers apiece.

Jaja Santiago was the lone Lady Bulldog in twin digits with 14 points, including five blocks.

NU, which lost two straight after going 2-0 under coach Roger Gorayeb, was at its off form, as Myla Pablo was held down to seven points and never returned in the third set.

"Pinaghandaan namin talaga sina Jaja and Myla," said Mamon, who is seeking to steer UST to its first Final Four stint in three seasons.

Rondina's powerful spike shattered the game's last deadlock at 15-15, as the Lady Bulldogs could not find the way to foil the Tigresses' cohesive attacking game down the stretch.

Aside from its 33 errors, Ateneo had to deal libero Denden Lazaro's playing hurt in the last two sets which posed problems on its floor defense.

"Totally wala kaming communication today, Adamson just enjoyed the game. They went here to really play against us," said Valdez.

De Jesus and Ahomiro pumped in 12 hits apiece while Bea de Leon and Jhoana Maraguinot chipped in nine markers for the Lady Eagles.

Galanza bounced back from her poor showing in the last three games to lead the Lady Falcons with 17 hits and nine digs while Amanda Villanueva and Mylene Paat had 16 and 15 points, respectively.

In men's action, UST and Ateneo forced a four-way tie in first place along with Adamson and NU at 7-2 as the Growling Tigers topped FEU (3-6), 25-21, 25-23, 25-22, while the Blue Eagles prevailed over UE (0-9), 25-17, 25-17, 26-24.