Matches on Wednesday
(Filoil EcoOil Centre)
9 a.m. – La Salle vs Ateneo (men)
11 a.m. – La Salle vs Ateneo (women)
3 p.m. – UST vs Adamson (men)
5 p.m. – UST vs Adamson (women)
ON FIRE De La Salle University reinforces its quest for a twice-to-beat advantage against its tenacious yet faltering adversary Ateneo de Manila University at the outset of the vital second round of competition in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball on Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. with the DLSU Lady Spikers (5-2) aiming for their fifth consecutive victory to maintain pace with the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses in a frantic battle for the second position behind the undefeated and defending champion National University Lady Bulldogs (7-0).
Santo Tomas (5-2), which saw its five-match winning streak conclude at the hands of NU in a nail-biting five-set encounter last weekend to finish the first round, targets the same objective against the slumping Adamson University (2-5) in the featured matchup at 5 p.m.
Their men’s squads will also clash in the crucial Final Four positioning with La Salle (4-3) and Ateneo (4-3) going head-to-head at 9 a.m., followed by the confrontation between Santo Tomas (4-3) and Adamson (1-6) at 3 p.m.
The focus, nonetheless, is on La Salle as Santo Tomas still possesses the tiebreaker for a shared No. 2 seed following its commanding victory in the season opener.
“I want to gauge the maturity of the team in the second round,” remarked coach Ramil de Jesus, whose team swiftly bounced back from a 1-2 start — tied for the institution’s worst performance in nearly 20 years — with four successive victories to conclude the first round.
“We finished strong to close the first round, but I seek consistency. We still have several aspects to refine from beginning to end in the second round. That’s our objective.”
Beyond just its fifth consecutive victory, the Lady Spikers will also be vying to maintain dominance over the Blue Eagles, having clinched 15 straight victories in their rivalry since 2017.
La Salle, which last succumbed to Ateneo in the UAAP Season 79 finals, secured a 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19, victory against the latter in the first round before sweeping FEU to wrap up its campaign.
Meanwhile, the Blue Eagles just snapped a three-game losing streak with a 20-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13 win over the University of the East Lady Warriors, allowing them to tie for fifth place with Adamson at 2-5. — John Bryan Ulanday
