ATENEO made University of the East an easy picking with an emphatic 25-21, 25-12, 25-12 victory to move closer in claiming the second ‘Final Four’ berth Wednesday in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Despite missing the services of coach Roger Gorayeb due to a scheduling conflict, the Lady Eagles played just hard enough to notch their second straight victory.
Earlier, University of Santo Tomas forged a three-way tie in third place by walloping University of the Philippines, 25-15, 25-15, 25-15.
Maru Banaticla uncorked 17 hits, while Maika Ortiz added 15 points, including two service aces, for the Tigresses.
UST tied Adamson and Far Eastern University at 6-4, making the race for the last two semifinals berths too close to call.
Second-running Ateneo improved to 8-2 card behind defending champion La Salle, which has a 10-0 mark.
The Lady Eagles widen their lead to two games over the Tigresses, the Lady Falcons and the Lady Tamaraws in the race for the ‘twice-to-beat’ slot in the semifinals.
Ateneo’s prized rookie Alyssa Valdez followed up her 30-point explosion against National University last weekend by scoring 17 hits, including three blocks and two service aces.
Gretchen Ho contributed 11 points, including two blocks, and Fille Cainglet had 10 hits for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Warriors, who were led by Sarina Faith Bulan with seven points, suffered their seventh loss in 10 outings to put themselves in the brink of eliminations.
With their 10th straight loss, the Lady Maroons became the first team to have a double-digit losing streak since the Lady Bulldogs lost their first 13 matches in the 2009-10 season.
Angeli Araneta scored all her nine hits from spikes for UP.
In the men’s division, Jay Depante, Mark Gil Alfafara and Jayson Ramos combined for 55 hits as UST (7-3) rolled past La Salle (6-4), 21-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-20.
Mico Lucindo drilled in a career-high 27 hits while Sam Paquiz added 21 points as UP (6-4) nipped NU (5-5), 31-29, 24-26, 24-26, 25-17, 16-14. (TJ)
