ATENEO ruled the first Battle of Katipunan in UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball over surprise league-leader University of the Philippines, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18, on Sunday inside Mall of Asia Arena.
Team captain Lyann de Guzman led by example to seize the Blue Eagles' first win of the season with 17 points, six digs, and four receptions.
Down two spikers for the rest of the year, returning Sobe Buena made the most of her extended minutes with a 14-piece behind six digs and four receptions.
In her full return from a left ankle injury during the offseason, Buena wasted no time making up for lost ground to help Ateneo spread its wings again after a handful of injury blows.
"I just tried to make the most out of this game kasi nga I wasn’t able to help my teammates in those first two games so my mindset going to this game was really just to give my all and able to be a good teammate to all of my teammates," Buena said.
De Guzman added: "Sa sobrang dami nang nangyari (sa team), mga sacrifices namin these past few months, siyempre sobrang happy kami kasi nakuha na namin yung isang panalo this season and I hope this win, maboost pa 'yung confidence namin."
Newly-converted winger AC Miner was a strong defensive presence for the Blue Eagles with a third of her 12-point scoring output coming from kill blocks.
No fight from UP
The Fighting Maroons suffered defeat for the first time after a rare 2-0 start, as Irah Jaboneta's 11-point, 10-reception double-double went for naught.
No other UP player hit the double-digit mark in a team performance that was a stark contrast to how they were able to reverse-sweep University of the East from 0-2 down and stun Final Four contender Far Eastern University in four sets.
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