La Salle seeks 16th straight women’s volley win vs Ateneo
Games on Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
9 a.m. – DLSU vs ADMU (men)
11 a.m. – UST vs AdU (men)
1 p.m. – DLSU vs ADMU (women)
3 p.m. – UST vs AdU (women)
A SWEET 16th straight win over its archrival and a stronger grip of second spot are up for grabs for La Salle when it dukes it out against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Spikers own the solo No. 2 seed at 6-3 after a 15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14 revenge win over Santo Tomas last weekend, making it a perfect opportunity to shoot two birds with one stone at 1 p.m. against the Blue Eagles.
Both squads will come to battle fresh from wins but La Salle remains as the heavy favorite to prevail given its eight-year mastery of Ateneo.
While Ateneo sports a three-game winning run to close in on the Final Four chase, La Salle has won five of its last six games behind the lethal duo of Angel Canino and Shevana Laput, including a 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19 conquest in the first round for its 15th straight win over the former.
The last time La Salle bowed to Ateneo was in the elims of the UAAP Season 79 that it eventually won via finals sweep as part of its three straight championships.
“Kami naman kung sino ‘yung darating na game simula nang matalo kami sa NU, sabi lang namin girls, kalimutan niyo na ‘yan at mag-focus tayo sa one game at a time. Isa-isahin natin kung sino darating,” said La Salle deputy mentor Noel Orcullo.
“Paghahandaan namin at ganun din ang gagawin namin sa Ateneo. Wala kaming babalewalain.”
La Salle may have made short work of Ateneo in their first meeting this season but the Blue Eagles, now more than ever, are ready to change the script riding on a three-game winning momentum.
Ateneo beat the University of the East, University of the Philippines and Adamson, in an unbeaten second-round campaign so far to stalk closer to Santo Tomas (5-4) and UP (5-5) for the No. 4 spot.
And they’re not going to let the opportunity slip away, even with a crippled crew that is now led by Lyann de Guzman and AC Miner.
“The most important thing is we’re fighting. Our players never give up. Our team never stops so if we have a one percent chance, we’ll fight for it,” declared Blue Eagles coach Sergio Veloso.
Meanwhile at 3 p.m., skidding Santo Tomas (5-4) seeks to snap a three-game skid to revive its Top-Two hopes against Adamson (3-6) while the men’s play features La Salle (5-4) and Ateneo (6-3) at 9 a.m. as well as UST (5-4) and Adamson (2-7) at 3 p.m. — John Bryan Ulanday
