Lady Eagles ground Lady Falcons

By Anthony Divinagracia Posted Dec 14th 2013

Ateneo de Manila University survived a huge third-set rally from a gutsy Adamson University side on Saturday to claim its second win in the 76^th UAAP women's volleyball tournament at the San Juan Arena.

Led by do-it-all skipper Alyssa Valdez, the Lady Eagles pecked the Lady Falcons to submission but not without encountering resistance in their 25-21, 25-12, 25-22 conquest of the hard-fighting Adamson team.

Valdez sprayed 17 points with 15 kills on top of five digs while Amy Ahomiro chipped in 12 hinged on ten hits and two blocks. Rookie Ana Gopico and Marge Tejada had six points apiece for the Lady Eagles, who rose to 2-1, tying Far Eastern University, National University, and Unviersity of Santo Tomas.

From a 10-10 deadlock in the opening canto, the Lady Eagles slowly broke away on Valdez's exploits as Ateneo grabbed a 19-16 lead. The Lady Falcons tried to catch up but poor reception and nasty miscommunication doomed Adamson, which eventually yielded the set after trailing, 19-23.

The second set however was a different story with the Lady Eagles building an insurmountable 20-10 advantage from the get-go to clinch a two-set lead.

Carrying that momentum in the third frame, Ateneo got off to a 13-8 start. But the Lady Eagles suddenly relaxed on the defensive end, allowing Adamson to knot the count, 15-all. The Lady Falcons even stole the upperhand 20-19.

But the Lady Eagles' composure and resiliency were not to be denied as Valdez and company outworked the Lady Falcons in the suceeding plays for a 24-22 edge that put the game beyond question.

Sheila Pineda top-scored for the Lady Falcons with 15 points on 12 hits and three aces while Mayette Zapanta added nine. The loss pulled Adamson to 1-2.