By John Bryan Ulanday
REIGNING champion Ateneo exacted sweet vengeance on rival Santo Tomas, pulling off a 25-20, 25-20, 25-20 statement victory to stay in playoff contention of the heating up University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Faith Nisperos soared high with 18 points on 15 attacks plus seven excellent receptions as the Blue Eagles moved to 5-5 at No. 5 behind fourth-running and second-game winner Adamson (6-4) with still four games to spare in the elims.
Vanie Gandler (12) and Joan Narit (11) backstopped Nisperos in offense with Jaja Maraguinot setting the table with 16 excellents for Ateneo, which also snapped the Golden Tigresses’ four-game streak in the process.
“We prepared for this and then nag-manifest sa kilos ng mga bata,” said coach Oliver Almadro as Ateneo avenged its 19-25, 21-25, 31-29, 31-33 loss against Santo Tomas in the first round.
Aside from getting back on Santo Tomas that finished runner-up in Season 81 before the pandemic, Ateneo also bounced back from a 25-18, 20-25, 19-25, 18-25 defeat against No. 1 and unbeaten National University (NU) over the weekend to bolster its Final Four drive.
Later, Adamson strengthened its place inside the Final Four picture after smothering Far Eastern University (FEU) with an easy 25-17, 25-17, 25-16 victory to improve to 6-4.
Trisha Genesis (14), May Ann Nique (12), Rizza Cruz (11) and Kate Santiago (11) led a scattered attack for the Lady Falcons, who created a separation ahead of chasing Ateneo approaching the tailend of the elims.
Eya Laure (14) was the lone bright spot for Santo Tomas, which still stayed at No. 2 with a 7-3 card while Chen Tagaod scored similar points in FEU’s ninth loss in 10 outings.