The Ateneo Lady Eagles returned to UAAP volleyball action after a bronze-medal finish in the 2014 ASEAN University Games to open 2015 with its hardest win in five games in Season 77.

The five-setter did not come against arch rivals La Salle though. It was eked out against erstwhile pushovers University of the Philippines (UP), 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 15-25, and 15-11.

It was the first win of the defending champions that went beyond three sets.

Top Lady Eagle Alyssa Valdez recovered just in time to score six points in the crucial fifth set after lackadaisical spiking in the second and fourth set.

Ateneo started hot in the first set with an array of spikes from Valdez, Amy Ahomiro, and Ella de Jesus.

UP then stunned the Lady Eagles from the middle of the net as Kathy Bersola connected on a string of first balls and quick hits to unnerve Ateneo’s floor defense. The Lady Eagles though climbed from 16-24 to 22-24 due to UP’s errors but a booming spike from Nicole Tiamzon sealed the deal in the second set.

The Lady Eagles exhibited superiority in the third set but could not erect huge leads due to UP’s gritty net and floor defense.

UP played its most splendid game this season in the fourth set, building an impenetrable wall against Valdez as Tiamzon and Angeli Araneta carried the scoring cudgels for their alma mater with down-the-line and running spikes.

Inexperience became the losing factor for UP in the fifth set as ticky-tack errors buried them after coming close at 10-11. The Lady Maroons committed six errors in the fifth set as compared to the four they committed in the previous set.

Valdez led her still undefeated team with 25 points while middle spikers Bea de Leon and Ahomiro added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Jia Morado was likewise splendid with a season-high 42 excellent sets.

The Lady Maroons, now sitting at sixth place with a 2-4 record, were led by Tiamzon with 22 points while Bersola and Araneta scored 12 and 11 points, respectively

In the second game, the streaking De La Salle University made mincemeat out of the winless University of the East, 25-6, 25-16, and 25-11.

Ara Galang led her team with 10 points off five service aces.

“Of course we’re happy with this win but our focus right now is against Ateneo,” Galang said, referring to La Salle’s upcoming grudge match against their arch rivals on January 11.