Ateneo halted the bleeding by defeating University of the Philippines in straight sets on Sunday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball competition.

The Blue Eagles battled back from a four-game losing streak that had them off to the school’s worst start to a season in 12 years by holding their own against the Fighting Maroons in two hard-fought sets.

The much-needed victory allowed Katipunan to successfully complete the first round of eliminations, but the Blue Eagles, who currently stand at 2-5 (win-loss), still have a long way to go before they can compete for a spot in the Final Four.

With 17 points, 13 attacks, 2 blocks, and 2 aces, Vanie Gandler led Ateneo.

The Blue Eagles came out firing and outattacked UP in assaults (40 to 28), leading to the team’s first straight-set victory of the season. Gandler and Faith Nisperos (14 points) worked well together.

With 11 points on 10 attacks, Captain Jewel Encarnacion was the only bright spot for UP.

The Fighting Maroons have one more chance to end Round 1 on a good note on Wednesday when they play Adamson after dropping to 1-5 (win-loss).

Meanwhile, La Salle defeated Adamson with scores of 22-25, 25-14, 25-16, and 25-19 on Sunday to maintain its perfect record in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball competition.

With a 6-0 record, the Lady Spikers are off to their finest start since Season 77.

La Salle’s Angel Canino scored 21 points, and Thea Gagate and Fifi Sharma combined to make 11 blocks.

On Wednesday, La Salle and NU square off.

Ramil de Jesus will allegedly be back in charge of the Lady Spikers in the next round.

The Lady Spikers held the Lady Falcons’ dynamic duo of Kate Santiago and Trisha Tubu to a combined 25 points thanks to 17 blocks by La Salle and one by Adamson.