Lady Eagles gain semis incentive

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo survived a scare in the second set and completed a 25-16, 28-26, 25-17 sweep of Adamson U to secure a twice-to-beat edge in the semis in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball yesterday.

The Lady Eagles erased a Lady Falcons set point then needed three set points of their own to snatch the second set before coming through in the third and collecting their 11th win against two losses.

ADMU tightened its hold of the top spot as it bounced back from a stinging loss to bitter rival La Salle, 17-25, 13-25, 23-25 last April 13.

“We’re nearing the end of eliminations. As coach said, we need to win convincingly. Even if we stumbled in the second set, that’s part of the game. We need to adjust right away and good thing we were able to deliver right on time,” said Lady Eagles skipper Bea de Leon.

Earlier, La Salle eased past ousted University of the East, 25-17, 25-16, 25-19, to clinch at least a playoff for a twice-to-beat semis incentive.

The Lady Spikers bucked a slow start in the first set and fell to the same trouble in the third before securing their fifth straight win and staying at second with their 10-3 mark.

“I always remind the players that this is a very important game. They should not relax and become too overconfident because UE has nothing to lose,” said DLSU coach Ramil de Jesus who somewhat attributed the rust to their 10-day Lenten break.

Rookie Jolina dela Cruz scattered 10 points, 10 digs and six excellent receptions, Aduke Ogunsanya also scored 10, Ernestine Tiamzon punched in nine while Des Cheng and Des Clemente each put in eight for the Lady Spikers.