MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) After two years of heartbreak and tears, De La Salle University is back at the top of the UAAP women's volleyball division, in the process dethroning arch-rival and defending champion Ateneo de Manila University.

The Lady Spikers overcame a slow start and a one-set deficit, followed their coach's game plan to the letter, and showed tremendous calm in the face of adversity as they defeated the Lady Eagles, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-16, in the do-or-die Game 3 of the UAAP Season 78 women's volleyball Finals in front of a crowd of 22,848 fans at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.

Kim Kianna Dy was almost unstoppable, scoring 17 points built on 16 attacks – including the game-clinching kill, while Majoy Baron added 11 points, including five of La Salle's 10 block points.

"Ito ang pinakamahirap," an emotional Ramil de Jesus said after the game. "Ito ang pinakamasarap."

It was La Salle's first title since Season 75, and their ninth overall. The hard-fought victory also ended Ateneo's two-year reign at the top of the women's division.

Slow start

It was not an easy win for the Lady Spikers, however. They started off slow, trailing by 1-10 in the opening set, as they failed to stop Ateneo superstar Alyssa Valdez.

Valdez, who scored 34 points in Ateneo's Game 2 victory last Wednesday, picked up where she left off, scoring five of Ateneo's first six points.

(READ: Valdez wins third straight MVP award)

The Lady Spikers made a late rally, coming as close as three points thrice, the last at 18-21 following an off-the-block kill by Dy. But the lead was too much to overcome for La Salle, and Ateneo took the opening frame 25-19 to come one step closer to a third straight title.

"Sabi ko sa kanila, sobrang aga pa para mag-enjoy," De Jesus said. "Sa first set, 'di pa doon makikita kung champion ka na o hindi. At sobrang taas din ng adrenaline ng Ateneo – kahit sino sigurong humarang doon, talagang baliktad."

Unfortunately for the Lady Eagles, they could not sustain the fast pace. A 6-0 blast built on Kim Fajardo's serve put La Salle ahead, 16-10, while Valdez had back-to-back hitting errors that helped the Lady Spikers build the lead.

Jia Morado's strong serving helped Ateneo claw their way back, and they even tied the set 19-all after a mishit by Fajardo. But La Salle ended the frame on a 6-2 run, getting contributions from Ara Galang, Baron, and Cyd Demecillo, to tie the match at one set a piece.

"Hindi nila na-sustain ang ganoong klaseng laro," De Jesus said of the Lady Eagles. "Pagdating ng second set, medyo napagod na si Valdez."

Ateneo unravels

The Lady Eagles began unraveling in the third set, falling behind 11-16 as Dy repeatedly bombed away against their porous net defense. It did not help that Valdez and Jhoana Maraguinot were misfiring on their attempts repeatedly, with Valdez sending a backrow hit long and Maraguinot too wide on a down-the-line attack.

Ateneo's 11th error of the set – a mishit by reserve Therese Gaston – wrapped up the victory for La Salle and gave the Lady Spikers a 2-1 lead.

Now brimming with confidence, the Lady Spikers raced to a quick start in the fourth set, leading by as much as 10 points before a brief rally by the Lady Eagles – compounded by La Salle's own errors – gave Ateneo a window of opportunity.

But as she had done all game long, Dy came through when she was needed, scoring another off-the-block kill to clinch the victory for La Salle in an hour and 51 minutes.

Thanks to her tremendous performance, Dy was named Finals MVP.

"Well deserved," De Jesus said.

Triumphant finish

It was a triumphant ending to the UAAP careers of La Salle veterans Ara Galang, Mika Reyes, Cyd Demecillo and Carol Cerveza.

Galang was especially emotional after the game, as the former Rookie of the Year and MVP had missed the Season 77 Finals against Ateneo due to an injury and worked her way back to full fitness this year.

"Si Ara, last season na-miss niya itong Finals. Ngayon, eto na – nakapaglaro na siya. Ito ang hinihintay niya buong year," De Jesus said of Galang.

Galang, Reyes, and Demecillo all finished with nine points as La Salle collected 43 points off attacks, just three off Ateneo's total. The Lady Spikers also had 10 block points while Ateneo had six – four of which came in their sterling opening set.

The Lady Eagles shot themselves in the foot by committing 33 unforced errors, while La Salle only had 19.

"Alam namin ang naging problema (noong Game 2), so noong ni-review namin, alam namin ang naging problema noong third, fourth, and fifth set. In-adjust namin, and at least nakasunod sa game plan ang mga bata," De Jesus said.

Tearful end

Meanwhile, it was a tearful end to the UAAP career of Valdez, the Ateneo superstar who won three-straight MVPs and carried the Lady Eagles to the deciding game with a stunning performance in Game 2 last Wednesday.

Valdez had 31 points in her final game for the Lady Eagles, but this time around, it was not enough against a La Salle team that conspired to shut her down in the final two frames.

A tearful Valdez hugged Fajardo – her high school teammate – as well as De Jesus after the game, and the La Salle coach had nothing but words of praise for the "Phenom."

"Sabi ko, at least nakapag-produce ng ganitong klaseng player ang Philippines," he said of Valdez. "At the same time, pupunta siya siguro sa mas mataas pa na level… Mas malayo pa ang mararating ng bata."

Jho Maraguinot added 10 points, and Bea de Leon had seven for the Lady Eagles. But Ateneo's floor defense was lacking in the third set onwards, and they compounded their woes by committing miscues at the worst possible times.

La Salle drew first blood in the best-of-three series, beating Ateneo 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 in front of a 19,000-strong crowd at the Araneta Coliseum last Saturday.

But the Lady Eagles, behind a performance from the ages by Valdez, forced a decider with an 18-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16, 15-11 victory in Game 2 last Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)