All systems go for Shakey’s V-League

THE lady spikers of the Ateneo de Manila University have nothing but a repeat title in mind as they compete in the Shakey’s V-League ninth season first conference, which fires off on April 24 at The Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Eagles still have Thai ace Lithawat Kesinee, who returns for another tour of duty after they swept the Adamson tossers in last year’s finals to end a long search for volleyball supremacy.

It was a sweet victory for Ateneo, which didn’t not only celebrated its breakthrough win in the country’s premier volley league but also got back at Adamson, which foiled its first crack at the crown also in the first conference of the 2008 season of the league.

The journey this year is expected to be a rough one as a host of other squads have beefed  up their efforts to unseat the Lady Eagles.

The University of Santo Tomas is raring to re-stake its claim as the country’s premier volley club as it makes its return since completing a record-equaling three-straight sweep of the championship in 2010.  La Salle did the trick first in 2005-06 season of the annual tournament.

Aside from Ateneo and UST, focus will also be on reigning NCAA champion University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, Far Eastern University, National University, San Sebastian College, Letran and Visayan teams University of St. La Salle of Bacolod and Cebu’s Southwestern University./Correspondent Jonas Panerio