It was a no bearing game for the Lady Eagles but there’s no stopping them from crushing their ambitious foes.
The Ateneo de Manila University ended the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball eliminations with a bang, blanking the dazed and confused Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 25-17, 25-19, 25-16 Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
While elite scorer Alyssa Valdez played her usual A-game with 21 points, it was secondary scorers Michelle Morente and Kiwi Ahomiro who surprised the Lady Tamaraws with a ton of service aces and spikes against FEU’s weak floor defense.
Ateneo pulverized FEU in the service game, scoring on 14 aces, and this was key for their tenth win of the season.
“The chemistry is there; teamwork was the key for this game,” said Valdez after the game. “Mich (Morente) and Jia (Morado) stepped up big and now I could say that the gap between the veterans and rookies has been erased and hopefully, this would help us in moving forward to the finals.”
Morente, who dazzled in the first set with four spikes and two aces, added 14 points while Ahomiro, who wound up the game with three points in Ateneo’s 6-1 finishing kick in the third set, had eight.
The Lady Tamaraws, now tied with Adamson University for fourth place at 6-8, fought tooth and nail to start all three sets but petty attack and reception errors made them fold in the endgame of each sets.
Utility spiker Samantha Dawson led FEU’s charge with nine points while Geneveve Casugod added six as the Lady Tamaraws will face the Lady Falcons on Wednesday for a do-or-die for the last semis slot.
In the first game, the lackluster University of the Philippines (UP) ended their Season 76 campaign with a straight-set win against the winless University of the East, 25-16, 25-21, 25-18.
Senior spiker Angeli Araneta led the 3-11 Lady Maroons with 15 points as they improved by one game from last season.
“I’m so proud of the team because even if we have not entered the semis, we made a lot of improvements,” she said.
