Lady Eagles turn losing duel to big win over Lady Spikers

MANILA, Philippines -  Ateneo came from behind to win the first two sets then bounced back from a third-set loss as the Lady Eagles upended the La Salle Lady Spikers, 26-24, 26-24, 21-25, 25-17, to wrest the solo lead in the UAAP Season 79 volleyball tournament at the MOA Arena last night.

The Lady Eagles capitalized on the nine errors committed by the Lady Spikers in the fourth set, three of which helped them erect a 16-9 advantage while the last, a service error by Aduke Ogunsanya, sealed the match that put them on top of the heap at the end of their opening round assignment in front of a crowd of 17,132 fans.

Ateneo improved to 6-1 while DLSU fell to second at 5-2.

“In the first two sets, the players really held on. They really wanted to win that’s why we were able to take those,” said ADMU assistant coach Sherwin Meneses.

“It’s good that we ended the first round with this standing. We hope we will be able to continue this in the second round.”

Michelle Morente led the charge for Ateneo with 25 points on 20 kills, three blocks and two aces she laced with 19 digs and 12 excellent receptions while Katrina Tolentino chipped in 18 markers.

Julia Morado tossed in 79 perfect sets for the Lady Eagles while Kim Fajardo dished out 76 for La Salle in a great duel between the two.

Kim Dy led four Lady Spikers in double figures with 15 points.

Earlier, Santo Tomas rode on the crest of its back-to-back victories as it trampled Far Eastern U, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20, to tie its opponent at fourth place at 4-3.

Michelle Morente, Tolentino, Bea de Leon, and Jhoana Maraguinot delivered the lethal attacks on precise setting of Morado as the Lady Eagles zoomed away in the fourth set and flattened the Lady Spikers.

Ateneo fought from six points down (8-14) in the opening set then battled back from couples of five-point deficits in the next frame.

The Lady Spikers seized the early initiatives and looked headed for Set 1 win as they led 23-20.

But the Lady Eagles refused to fade away, catching up at 24 then squeezing through on the winning points from Morente.

In the second set, La Salle got off to a strong start again, taking a 6-1 lead and staying up front until Ateneo waged another searing chase and caught up at 18-all.

Power tips by De Leon and Tolentino closed out the second set, 26-24, for a two-sets-to-nothing Ateneo lead.