MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) This time around, there was no need for Marck Espejo to score 55 points.

Ateneo de Manila University got contributions for more players to take down Far Eastern University (FEU), 25-19, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18, and seize the remaining finals berth in the UAAP Season 80 men's volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Blue Eagles advanced to the finals for the fifth season in a row, where they will play rivals National University (NU) in a best-of-three championship series. The Katipunan spikers are eyeing a fourth consecutive title.

It was a more comfortable victory than the gauntlet that Ateneo went through last Saturday, where they needed a historic 55-point explosion from Espejo to battle past FEU in five sets and force a do-or-die game for the last finals berth against the Tamaraws, who owned a twice-to-beat edge after finishing with the second seed.

On Wednesday, the reigning four-time MVP was "limited" to 37 points, but Ateneo got timely contributions from Karl Baysa, Ron Medella, and their young middle blockers Chumason Njigha and Gian Glorioso to finish off the Tamaraws in an hour and 55 minutes.

"My players really wanted this," said Ateneo coach Oliver Almadro after the game. "Sabi nila last night, 'Coach, we will never back down.' Ibig sabihin, all out sila for today."

"So I thank them because they believe in the process of doing it right. Hindi kailangan ng spectacular, but kailangan ng tamang execution," he added.

Medalla scored nine points, Baysa added eight, and Njigha fired seven, including the booming attack off a quick play that sent Ateneo to match point. Veteran setter Ish Polvorosa finished with 40 excellent sets.

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Ateneo drew first blood with a comfortable 25-19 win in the opening frame, but FEU's net defense came through in the second set as the Tamaraws equalized. Jude Garcia and Peter Quiel anchored a 5-0 closing burst, capped by a Quiel attack, to tie the match at 1-1.

The Blue Eagles leaned on their overwhelming offense to pull through in a nip-and-tuck third set where neither team could gain control until the final stretches. A violation by Baysa tied the frame at 20, but Espejo converted back-to-back hits for a 22-20 Ateneo lead. He committed a rare hitting error in the next rally to keep FEU alive, but then responded with two more kills to bring the Blue Eagles to set point, 24-21.

FEU skipper Richard Solis saved a point with an off-the-block hit, but Baysa came through with a kill through the Tamaraws' blockers to give Ateneo the win. The Blue Eagles tallied a whopping 20 attack points in the third set.

"I told (Polvorosa) to give the ball to Marck," said Almadro of their game plan in the pivotal third frame.

From there, it was all Ateneo. The Blue Eagles' blocking finally clicked in the fourth frame, with Glorioso coming up with rejections of JP Bugaoan and Solis. Polvorosa activated all of their spikers – from Espejo to Medalla to Baysa – to steer the Blue Eagles to a 16-10 advantage.

FEU last threatened at 17-23, when the Blue Eagles committed three straight errors and Raymond Bautista turned back Espejo. But Njigha stunned the Tamaraws with his quick kill for match point. And while Garcia temporarily kept the Tams alive with a kill, he also committed the service error that gifted Ateneo the winner.

"Hindi lang naman si Marck," said Almadro. "He has the numbers, but 'yung all around, that's what matters. So, ano ang ginawa ni Ish, ano ginawa ni Ron, ano ginawa ni Karl? What's important is, my team trusts each other."

Redijohn Paler had 14 points, and Garcia finished with 11 for the Tamaraws. Bugaoan added 10 points while Quiel and Solis each scored nine.

But once again, they struggled to stop Espejo, who torched them for 34 kills while also contributing 10 digs. After the second set, FEU's blocking fell off as well.

This is the second season in a row that FEU has faltered at the finish line in the Final 4. Last season, the third-seeded Tamaraws pushed the second-seeded NU Bulldogs to a deciding game, but fell in a five-set heartbreaker.

Game 1 of the best-of-3 finals is on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

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