Dongallo shines as UE snaps 14-year women's volleyball slump vs Ateneo

MANILA, Philippines — Casiey Dongallo had a stellar debut performance in the UAAP, towing the UE Lady Warriors to a historic win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 20-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18, in the opening game of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.

In a battle of new-look teams, Dongallo starred with 27 points to tally UE’s first win over Ateneo since UAAP Season 73 in 2010 — breaking a 14-year drought.

Despite first game jitters getting the best of them, as Ateneo drew first blood in the opening set, 25-20, off of a Lyann De Guzman score, UE quickly rebounded in the second set.

UE pulled away midway through the canto after taking advantage of an error-prone Ateneo side.

At their most dominant, UE was ahead by nine, 23-14, after a Shamel Fernandez ace.

The Lady Warriors rode the momentum en route to a tight win in Set 3 where they came back from a 21-22 deficit late. They fired a 4-1 run late, capped off by a sorry attack error from Ateneo to seize the 2-1 lead.

Dongallo, a product of California Sports Academy, then led the cavalry to a late game breakaway in Set 4 after Ateneo came back to tie the set at 13-all.

She scored UE’s last three points to give the Lady Warriors its most optimistic start to a season in recent history.

Providing support to Dongallo’s explosive outing were Riza Nogales and Kayce Balingit who chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Lyann De Guzman paced Ateneo in the losing effort with a double-double of 19 points and 15 excellent digs.