MANILA, Philippines -- La Salle punched in its third straight win in the UAAP Season 87 men’s volleyball tournament after dispatching bitter rivals Ateneo Blue Eagles in four sets, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22, Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Green Spikers now won their third straight head-to-head win over their rivals dating back to last season.
Fiery spiker Noel Kampton poured in 27 points in the game on 23 attacks, three blocks and a service ace, while Rui Ventura had nine attacks, two blocks and two aces.
After dropping the first set, the two teams were kept in a 20-all deadlock.
But Kampton and Ventura teamed up and equalized the match at one set apiece.
This gave the Taft-based squad the momentum, as the Green Spikers dug deep in the third set to get the 2-1 advantage.
They were leading 21-19 in the third set before Ateneo had three crucial errors down the stretch.
Kampton then completed the 2-1 edge after an offspeed hit.
And in the fourth set, the Blue Eagles were leading 18-17 before Kampton heated up and punched in back-to-back-to-back hits to push La Salle ahead, 21-20.
Blue Eagle Jian Salarzon tied it up at 21-all, but Ventura strung together three straight before Vince Maglinao put the cherry on top.
“Super motivated to win today kasi we’re fighting for our pride, school pride na ito eh. Sobrang big morale boost din nito kasi we beat our rival school,” Kampton said.
“Proud ako kasi nagawa namin yung plano namin and at the same time, lahat ng pagbubuhos namin ng panahon, somehow ito yung naging resulta. Ito naman yung goal namin for now bago matapos yung last game ng first round, we see to it na magawa at masulit namin yung kundisyon namin,” La Salle head coach Jose Roque said.
Maglinao added seven markers while Eco Adajar tossed up 12 excellent sets. Team captain Menard Guerrero then notched 20 excellent receptions and 17 excellent digs.
Kennedy Batas and Salarzon led the one-two punch for Ateneo, scoring 22 and 19, respectively. Amil Pacinio had 14.
The 4-2 La Salle squad will try to keep rolling, but they will face the unscathed Far Eastern University in their final first round matchup on Saturday.
The 3-3 Ateneo, meanwhile, will try to get back to its winning ways against the 0-7 University of the East squad also on Saturday. Both games will be at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In the first match of the day, National University came back from two sets down and mauled Adamson in five sets, 20-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-12.
Jeffre Gallego recorded 22 excellent sets to go with four points to spark the comeback of NU.
With Gallego setting things up, four Bulldogs finished in double figures, led by Buds Buddin, who had 22 points. Jade Disquitado, Rwenz Taguibolos and Leo Aringo Jr. finished with 15, 13 and 13 points, respectively.
Jude Aguilar had 26 points on 24 attacks and two service aces, while Mark Paulino fired 19 points for Adamson.
The Bulldogs rose to 5-1 in the season, and they will face University of Santo Tomas on Sunday. The Falcons, on the other hand, dropped to 1-5 and will take on University of the Philippines also on Sunday at the Big Dome.