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Thu 28 March 2024

The crown returns to Taft: La Salle gets back at Ateneo to win UAAP women’s volleyball crown

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In volleyball, nothing beats a well-placed wall on the net.

That was how the De La Salle Lady Spikers regained the much coveted UAAP women’s volleyball crown this Season 78, overpowering archrivals Ateneo Lady Eagles, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-16, on the eve of Labor Day at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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And the Lady Spikers indeed labored very hard, coming back from a 1-10 deficit in the first set and bouncing back to overpower the Lady Eagles in sets three and four.

“It was our blocking. In game two, we allowed 76 spikes through our [net] defense. We made up for our mistake,” said a relieved La Salle head coach Ramil de Jesus, who now have led his team to nine championships, all under his tenure.

While three-time most valuable player (MVP) Alyssa Valdez scored 31 points in game three—her second straight thirty-point game—the vaunted La Sallian wall denied Valdez’s spikes seven times in the third and fourth sets, where La Salle thrashed Ateneo, 50-32.

Meanwhile, the graduating trio of Ara Galang, Cyd Demecillo, and Mika Reyes concentrated on both floor and net defense, and reneging their scoring duties to upstarts Kianna Dy and Majoy Baron.

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Galang and Demecillo frustrated Valdez and the Lady Eagles with a combined 54 receptions while Reyes teamed up with Dy, Baron, and Kim Fajardo as she scored on three blocks.

The senior trio scored nine points each while Dy, named Finals MVP, led her team with 17 points while Baron added 11 points off five blocks, three aces, and three spikes.

“Their (Ateneo) target is our two open spikers, Ara Galang and Demecillo, so we have to distribute our scoring to our younger spikers,” de Jesus added.

La Salle even gave the fans a treat as setter Kim Fajardo had six points—three coming from power spikes highlighted by a daring down-the-line in the second set that sparked La Salle’s comeback.
“I trusted myself and my teammates. I just have to believe that I can do many things for the team because I know my teaammates can do everything too,” Fajardo, who has one more year of eligibility, said.

It was a bittersweet ending for the Lady Eagles, who have won back-to-back championships prior this season, all under the leadership of Thai coach Anusorn Bundit.

“The other team (La Salle) played better. We did not play better,” Bundit said, after the game, as he in his lonesome greeted the hundreds of Ateneo fans outside the coliseum, who were still cheering for their team despite the loss.

The Lady Eagles also saw the last of Alyssa Valdez, the spiker who revolutionized the Ateneo volleyball program, leading the Lady Eagles to five straight finals appearance in all of her playing years.

“I’m just really thankful for the past five years I spent in Ateneo and in the UAAP. This experience has prepared me to face real life,” Valdez, scoring leader for four of her five years in the UAAP, said in conclusion of her stellar career.



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