UAAP: Valdez carries Ateneo past UE in straight sets

The Ateneo de Manila Lady Eagles mangled the University of the East Lady Warriors in straight sets, 25-17 25-12 25-22, on Saturday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

 

Alyssa Valdez continued her scoring tear, scoring 20 points off 13 attacks, two blocks, and five aces to lead Ateneo over the winless Lady Warriors. Amy Ahomiro again played Robin to Valdez’s Batman, scoring 11 points in the rout.

 

The Lady Eagles improve to 8-4 and still sit at third, while the Lady Warriors are still without a win in 12 contests, 0-12.

 

The Katipunan contingent was relatively short-handed, playing without starter Ana Gopico (MCL) and Marge Tejada (flu).

 

The Lady Eagles started strong in the first set, garnering an 8-3 lead before the first technical timeout, never giving up the lead as the Lady Warriors managed to cut it to only four at 16-12. Errors marred both teams’ play (12 for UE, 10 for Ateneo), as UE continued to apply too much power on their hits, while Michelle Morente played with the jitters, committing five errors in the first set alone. Ateneo closed out the first set with four unanswered points, clinching the first frame with a 25-17 victory.

 

Despite decent defensive effort in the first set, the Lady Warriors had trouble in the reception department, giving up five service aces to the Lady Eagles. By the time the Lady Warriors reached double-digits, Ateneo was already up by 11, 21-10. Despite a pocket of resistance after scoring three straight points, the blue squad disposed of the Lady Warriors 25-11 after a kill by De Jesus.

 

With their backs against the wall, the Lady Warriors started putting up a fight, snaring a one-point lead at 7-6 after Morente committed another error, and later on tying the score at 12-12 after the Lady Eagles had a defensive lapse. The Lady Eagles strung together three straight points courtesy of Valdez and Kassandra Gequillana, and they never trailed from there, protecting the lead which swung between two to three points. Faith Bulan put UE within two at 21-19, after the referees slapped Coach Boy Dalistan with a yellow card, but Ahomiro and Valdez scored two apiece to deliver another crushing defeat to the Lady Warriors, 25-22.

 

Michelle Morente helped her squad with eight points, as Ateneo tallied 24 digs and 31 sets.

 

Adorador again topped the scoring charts for UE with 11 points, the only players to score in double figures for her squad. Bulan and Michelle Manansala added five apiece. Only four players scored for UE, while the squad committed 29 unforced errors and made only 10 receptions. - RAF, GMA News