MANILA, Philippines – Five consecutive meetings in the Finals of the UAAP women's volleyball tournament are still not enough to settle one of the greatest rivalries in Philippine sports – De La Salle University vs. Ateneo de Manila University.

Icons have come and gone – from Cha Cruz to Abigail Maraño, to the "Fab Five" and Alyssa Valdez – yet new stars keep cropping up to propel the Lady Eagles and the Lady Spikers back to the championship round.

For the sixth season in a row, La Salle and Ateneo will contest the women's volleyball championship, with the Lady Spikers also eyeing to defend the title that they regained in Season 78.

Before the UAAP Season 79 Finals opens on May 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, let us take a look back at the first five championship encounters between the rivals.

• READ: UAAP Volleyball Finals opener moved to later date

UAAP Season 74

Season 74 marked a breakthrough year for the Ateneo Lady Eagles, and a historic one for the De La Salle Lady Spikers.

Behind first-year spiker Alyssa Valdez and the "Fab Five," the Lady Eagles advanced to the UAAP women's volleyball Finals for the first time ever, where they met the Lady Spikers. La Salle had put together a dominant season, sweeping the elimination round to enter the Finals with a thrice-to-beat advantage.

Ateneo stunned La Salle in Game 1, winning in four sets, but the Lady Spikers restored order with a four-set win in Game 2, then swept Ateneo in Game 3 to secure their second straight title, and seventh overall.

Cha Cruz was named the Finals MVP.

UAAP Season 75

There was no sweep for La Salle in Season 75, as they were shocked by University of Santo Tomas in their very first game of the season. Yet the Lady Spiker won the rest of their matches to cruise to the Final 4 with a twice-to-beat edge.

Ateneo arranged a Finals rematch after beating Adamson University in the Final 4, while La Salle also took care of National University. As La Salle did not sweep, the Finals was simply a best-of-3 affair.

The Lady Eagles were one set away from claiming a 1-0 lead in the series, but La Salle showed incredible heart to win the last three sets of Game 1. They rode their momentum all the way to a sweep of Ateneo in Game 2 to secure the "three-peat."

Michele Gumabao was named the Finals MVP.

UAAP Season 76

The Lady Spikers tore through the elimination round of Season 76, dropping only two sets en route to a 14-0 sweep and an outright Finals berth, where they had a thrice-to-beat advantage anew.

Meanwhile, Ateneo was not expected to make much noise in the Final 4, as their veteran core had graduated, leaving Valdez to lead a young team. Remarkably, the Lady Eagles made it to the semis as the third seed, and won three consecutive knockout games to advance to the Finals against La Salle for the third straight season.

Ateneo shattered La Salle's aura of invincibility with a four-set win in Game 1, but the Lady Spikers moved to the brink of the title with a four-set victory of their own in Game 2.

In a truly epic Game 3, Ateneo seized the first two sets before La Salle battled back to force a decider. The Lady Spikers carried their momentum to the fifth set, where they led 12-8 and even moved to championship point. Behind Valdez and Amy Ahomiro, however, Ateneo rallied back to snatch the win and force a winner-take-all Game 4.

Valdez put the Lady Eagles on her back in Game 4, tallying 21 points including the final three points to give Ateneo their first-ever women's volleyball title. She was later named Finals MVP.

UAAP Season 77

It was Ateneo's turn to have a dominant campaign in Season 77, as they swept the elimination rounds to advance to the Finals with a thrice-to-beat bonus.

La Salle, however, was no slouch. Their only losses in the eliminations came against Ateneo, and they marched to the stepladder semis with a twice-to-beat edge. That was when disaster struck, however. They were forced to a knockout game by an upstart NU team, and in the do-or-die contest, team captain Ara Galang unfortunately suffered an ACL tear that ruled her out of the Finals.

Facing a hobbled La Salle team, the Lady Eagles swept both of the Finals game to complete a perfect season.

UAAP Season 78

Season 78 marked the end of an era for the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry, as several players for both teams were graduating at the end of the tournament, including MVPs Ara Galang and Alyssa Valdez.

La Salle drew first blood in the elimination round, emphatically ending Ateneo's 24-match winning streak with a surprisingly easy three-set win in the first round. The Lady Eagles roared back in the second round, however, winning in five sets to clinch the No. 1 seed.

The Lady Eagles marched to the Final 4 by beating University of the Philippines, but La Salle was again forced to a do-or-die game, this time by a gritty Far Eastern University squad. Nevertheless, they took care of business in the knockout duel to set up round 5 against their rivals.

Game 1 of the Finals played out much like their first round encounter, with La Salle peppering the Lady Eagles with aces en route to a straight sets win.

They looked as though they were on their way to a sweep after taking a 2-0 lead in Game 2, but that was when Valdez went full Michael Jordan and simply refused to lose. The three-time MVP put on a stunning effort, scoring 34 points to lead the Lady Eagles to a come-from-behind five-set win.

Ateneo surged to a 1-0 lead in Game 3, but they faded down the stretch, while La Salle got stronger. In the end, the Lady Spikers had way more in the tank, as they won in four sets.

Third-year utility spiker Kianna Dy was named the Finals MVP, in a way signaling the entry of new stars into the rivalry while the league bid goodbye to Valdez, Galang, Ahomiro, and Mika Reyes.

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