Ateneo trips UP, extends winning streak

Ateneo overcame the spirited challenge of University of the Philippines to hack out a 25-20, 25-22, 28-26 victory yesterday in the UAAP women’s volleyball at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Lady Eagles lost a 16-12 lead and trail 23-22 but were able to keep their poise coupled with crucial backto-back errors by the Lady Maroons to post their fourth straight win after a 0-2 start and tie the defending champion La Salle Lady Spikers for second.

Deanna Wong spelled the difference for Ateneo, converting variety of plays to finish with 33 excellent sets.

UP, meanwhile, absorbed its fourth straight defeat since winning its opening match against University of the East.

It also didn’t help that UP’s Jesma Ramos exited late in the match after hurting her right ankle from accidentally stepping on the foot of Ateneo’s Kat Tolentino during a block attempt.

In men’s division, Marck Espejo exploded with 30 points built on 21 hits, five blocks and four aces to lead Ateneo past UP, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25, 2521.

It was the Eagles’ fifth straight win since losing their opening match to Far Eastern University to stay at second and half a game behind the Tamaraws. The Maroons dropped to 1-4. National University, for its part, turned to Bryan Bagunas and Fauzi Ismail’s combined 28 points in besting University of Santo Tomas, 18-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-18.

The Bulldogs improved to 4-1 while the Tigers dropped to 3-2.