Playing a solid defense at the frontline, the Ateneo Lady Eagles did not waste time in taking the 81st University Athletic Association of the Philippines women’s volleyball honors.
The Lady Eagles needed only three sets to get past the University of Santo Tomas Tigresses, 25-17, 25-22, 25-22, yesterday in Game 3 of their best-of-three finals at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Many teammates fell on top of Julianne Marie Samonte after she gave the Lady Eagles the match point in the final set.
It was Samonte’s placement shot off the blocks of Tigresses Eya Laure and Caitlin Viray which settled the game in favor of the Lady Eagles during their 99-minute contest.
Kat Tolentino led the Lady Eagles with 15 points, with 11 scored on attacks.
This earned the Lady Eagles their first crown after four years. It will be their third title after getting back-to-back championship back in 2013 and 2014..
The Lady Eagles moved ahead on a 5-0 blast, with Tolentino leading the charge with a drop shot past season MVP Cherry Rondina at the middle.
Their scoring run allowed Ateneo to move away from a 6-5 edge, and take an 11-5 spread off three UST errors and another drop shot at the left corner from Pauline Gaston.
The Tigresses stayed close, 22-23, off Rondina’s block off Tolentino and Janine Balcorta’s killshot off Bea de Leon, who was later adjudged as the Finals MVP.
But the Lady Eagles managed to take the second set, 25-22, following De Leon’s smash, and after the referee awarded match point to Ateneo. This was after Rondina sent the ball in with her spike, and had a misstep after landing from a jump.
Rondina fell forward and across the net, and crashed into the legs of De Leon, who was on her way down from a jumping position. At that point, De Leon was still in the act of deflecting Rondina’s spike.
In the third set, the Lady Eagles picked their way out of a 4-all deadlock off De Leon’s block and a long placement shot from Rondina which went out of bounds.
The Lady Eagles then pulled away by four, behind the frontline attacks of Tolentino and De Leon, 14-8.
This kept the Tigresses from claiming their first title in 10 years.
