UP stuns Ateneo in UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball thriller

Games on Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
9 a.m. – UST vs Ateneo (Men)
11 a.m. – DLSU vs UP (Men)
1 p.m. – UST vs Ateneo (Women)
3 p.m. – DLSU vs UP (Women)

THE souped-up University of the Philippines (UP) rose from the ashes to stay immaculate, ending an eight-year drought against Ateneo de Manila University with a 17-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-14 reverse sweep in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Fighting Maroons, who last won against the Blue Eagles in 2018, finally scored one on their Katipunan rivals thanks to a gutsy resolve from 0-2 down and in the extended decider.

UP, under new coach Fabio Menta of Italy, climbed to 2-0 as one of the early league leaders alongside the mighty and three-peat seeking National University (NU) (3-0).

It’s the first back-to-back wins for the Diliman-based spikers since 2022, ending an 11-game losing skid against Ateneo in the process.

Veteran middle blocker Niña Ytang led the way with 15 points on 11 hits, an ace and three blocks, including the clinching swat on Zey Pacia in the back-and-fourth fifth set.

Irah Jaboneta battled cramps and added 14 points while Nigerian spiker Fina Ali had 13 points highlighted by a thunderous crosscourt hit to break deuce and propel UP to match point, 15-14.

“Finally, we found a way to play our own game,” said Mr. Menta, a former mentor of the defunct pro volleyball team Foton.

“We were worrying too much about what was happening on the other side so when we found that kind of rhythm, that kind of game that we like more. We became more effective from there.”

Like diesel, the Fighting Maroons indeed needed a while to heat up despite a rousing opening win against the University of the East Lady Warriors, 25-12, 25-9, 21-25, 25-19.

After surrendering the first two sets, UP finally got a little going with a gritty third-set win that just snowballed to an 18-9 lead in the fourth to force a rubber match albeit not without a scratch after Ateneo clawed back to tie things up at 23-all.

Two consecutive errors by the Blue Eagles then paved the way to a fifth set, where the Fighting Maroons proved to be the steadier team.

A year after her ACL injury, JLo Delos Santos fired 21 while young guns Ana Hermosura and Donna de Leon chipped in 19 and 15 points, respectively, but Ateneo still remained winless in two matches after a debut defeat to Adamson University.

In the men’s side, University of Santo Tomas avenged its straight-sets debut against five-peat champion NU with a 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19 win over La Salle for its first win.

Ateneo then beat UP four sets in the first game, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18, to create a three-way tie at 1-1 with Santo Tomas and UP. — John Bryan Ulanday