Curse lifted: UP turns back Ateneo in Battle of Katipunan

University of the Philippines (UP) finally lifted a seven-year Battle of Katipunan curse by outworking Ateneo de Manila University, 17-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-14, for a second straight win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

In the pressure-packed race in the endgame, it was the Blue Eagles who blinked first as the Fighting Maroons kept their unbeaten record intact and ended an 11-game head-to-head losing skid over their neighbors.

“Finally, we found a way to play our own game because 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,” UP head coach Fabio Menta said.

Nina Ytang led the Fighting Maroons with 15 points from 11 kills, an ace and three kill blocks including the game-winning denial on Zey Pacia to end the two-hour, 44-minute encounter.

Irah Jaboneta fired 14 points on 13 kills and an ace, debuting Fina Ali and Casiey Donggalo added 13 points each for UP, which scored their first win against the Ateneo since the second round of Season 80.

UP went up 9-6 in the deciding frame but got into trouble when Ateneo made a run to take an 11-10 advantage. The Fighting Maroons answered with three straight points before the Blue Eagles tied it at 13.

Dongallo pushed UP at matchpoint only for Ana Hermosura to tie it at 14. Ali fired back with a kill as Ytang shut the door on Zey Pacia to ice the exhausting match.

JLo delos Santos finished with 21 points off 19 kills, one ace and one kill block to go with 11 digs but wasn’t enough to save Ateneo from going down 0-2.

Hermosura had 19 points while Donna De Leon and Pacia added 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Blue Eagles, who was in control in the first two sets before allowing UP to mount a comeback.

Ateneo had a chance to end the match in the fourth set after erasing a 9-18 deficit as De Leon tied it at 23 with a block over Jelai Gajero.

But the Blue Eagles shot themselves in the foot with Hermosura’s back-to-back errors that dragged the match to five sets.

In men’s play, University of Santo Tomas barged into the win column after silencing De La Salle University, 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19.

Josh Ybañez uncorked 21 points with all but one coming from kills to pace the Golden Spikers, who tied Ateneo de Manila University and University of the Philippines with identical 1-1 cards.

Meanwhile, De La Salle University went through a wringer third set before completing a 25-14, 25-15, 26-24, win over University of Santo Tomas (UST) for its second straight win in as many outings.

Skipper Shevana Laput scored 22 points including the Lady Spikers’ last three points in the third set.

La Salle squandered a 19-15 advantage in the third frame as the Golden Tigresses went up, 24-22. UST winger Xyza Gula committed an attack error in the next play before Laput scored on back-to-back kill blocks before hitting an offspeed kill to wrap the match and join UP in second spot behind three-peat-seeking National University (3-0).

The Tigresses absorbed a second straight defeat in as many starts.