UAAP: DLSU defeats Ateneo for the women's volleyball crown, completes 3-peat

(Updated 2:50pm) The De La Salle University Lady Spikers completed their second three-peat in the UAAP women's volleyball competition on Wednesday after sweeping Ateneo De Manila University in Game 2 of their best-of-three series, 25-23, 25-20, 25-16, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Prior to the game, two DLSU Lady Spikers were awarded regular season honors. Abigal Marano was honored as Best Blocker, and she and teammate Ara Galang were named co-MVPs of the regular season. On the other side, Ateneans Alyssa Valdez was named Best Scorer, while fellow Lady Eagle Jem Ferrer received the Best Setter plume. The other awardees were led by Rookie of the Year Aiko Urdas of NU. Her teammates Jen Reyes (Best Receiver and Best Digger) and Myla Pablo (Best Attacker) were also honored, as was Shiela Marie Pineda (Best Server). The Lady Spikers started strong in the first set, with co-MVP Galang leading the charge. After some trickery by Kim Fajardo, La Salle was able to go up 21-17, prompting Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb to call a timeout. An Alyssa Valdez error was canceled out by a Fille Cainglet hit, as Ara Galang made it 23-18 after finding a hole in the Ateneo defense. A soft touch by Cyth Demecillo gave La Salle set point, before Valdez threatened, scoring five straight, 24-23, but the girls in Green won a tussle in the net to earn set one. Better floor defense by Ateneo started the second set, helping the Lady Eagles go up 4-0. A Dzi Gervacio kill sailed long to give La Salle its first point, while a Marano conversion followed by a Valdez error cut the lead to two, 5-3. The Lady Eagles continued to grind it out in the longer rallies to go up 17-13, forcing coach Ramil de Jesus to call for time. A pair of hits from Demecillo cut the lead to four, 13-9, before Jem Ferrer set one up for Valdez from the backline.  Marano and Galang answered with a couple of kills, 14-11, before a Ferrer error cut the lead to two. The La Salle surge prompted coach Gorayeb to call a timeout, as a pair of La Salle service errors made it 16-13 for the Lady Eagles. Mika Reyes then started to milk the middle for points to cut the lead to one, 17-16, before a pair of blocks from the sophomore put La Salle ahead, 18-17. Two errors from Ateneo made it 20-17 for La Salle, before the Lady Eagles cut the lead to one, 21-20. La Salle then went back to Reyes in the middle, 22-20, before a pair of errors from Cainglet and Gervacio gave DLSU set point. A Reyes ace ended things and gave La Salle a 2-0 set lead heading into the third. The two teams were tied at 4-all in the third, before Demecillo put La Salle ahead by one.  Gervacio kept on fighting for Ateneo, while a Cainglet kill gave the Lady Eagles an 8-5 lead. A pair of Marano kills brought La Salle closer, 11-9, as Valdez and Wensh Tiu exchanged points, 13-10. A soft touch for Marano found an empty middle, while an Ateneo reception error cut the lead to one anew, 13-12. A Valdez kill after a Gorayeb timeout put Ateneo ahead, 14-12, but a pair of errors by the Blue and White tied the game at 14-all. A Marano service ace put La Salle on top, before Reyes found the middle empty again. A Gumabao kill was followed by a La Salle error, while Galang showed why she was co-MVP, establishing a 20-15 lead for the two-time defending champions. It all went down hill from there for the Katipunan-based squad, as the Lady Eagles were reduced to focusing on floor coverage instead of attacking. Up 23-16, Galang delivered an ace to set up match point, before the Lady Spikers ended the game with a monster block to claim the victory. Mika Reyes led La Salle with 16 points, while co-MVPs of the regular season Abi Marano and Ara Galang added 12 each. Alyssa Valdez carried Ateneo with 14, while graduating players Fille Cainglet and Dzi Gervacio chipped in eight and seven, respectively. Once again, La Salle did it on the defensive end, registering 17 blocks to Ateneo's four. [Related: DLSU super sophs Galang and Reyes look forward to quest for four straight v-ball titles] It was a storybook ending for the Green and White squad, who dropped their first game of the season against the University of Santo Tomas before sweeping the next 16 games to win the title. DLSU's title win is the seventh women's volleyball championship for the Lady Spikers in the last 10 years. [Related: Gumabao looks to leave while Marano stays for DLSU Lady Spikers] Michelle Gumabao was named Finals MVP.  - RNB/AMD, GMA News