MANILA, Philippines – Alyssa Valdez came through in crunch time and the Bali Pure Purest Water Defenders outlasted the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons in five sets to claim their third win in the Shakey's V-League Season 13 Open Conference Monday at the Arena in San Juan.

Valdez, playing in her first game of the tournament after missing her team's first three contests, scored the game-clinching kill to fend off UP's fightback and secure a 20-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-15, 15-12 victory in front of a vocal crowd.

She finished with 26 points on 23 attacks and three aces, while also registering 18 excellent receptions.

"Alyssa brings so much confidence, not only for herself," said Bali Pure playing coach Charo Soriano, who contributed five points, after the game. "You can really see her – she plays with so much confidence, but it helps a lot, being teammates with her kasi she brings you up also."

"Yung confidence ni Alyssa, nakakahawa inside the court," she explained. "It's a very good feeling, knowing for a fact that you got each other's' backs."

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It took Valdez a while to get going and so did Bali Pure, as the Water Defenders dropped the first set to the fired up Lady Maroons. They bounced back in the second frame, rallying from a 20-22 defici,t thanks to errors from UP and back-to-back kills from Valdez.

The Lady Maroons, however, dominated the third set, with skipper Kathy Bersola anchoring a ferocious net defense that saw her repeatedly deny two-time NCAA MVP Grethcel Soltones.

UP had all the momentum in their favor heading into the fourth set, but Bali Pure set the tone as they opened with five unanswered points thanks to excellent serving from Jem Ferrer.

Ferrer, who finished the game with 50 excellent sets, also set up Valdez and Soltones for clean hits, while UP's Isa Molde and Justine Dorog committed unforced errors.

The Lady Maroons clawed their way to within seven, 16-23, late in the set, but a backrow kill by Valdez and a quick hit from Ahomiro allowed Bali Pure to force a decider.

In the winner-takes-all fifth set, it appeared as though the Water Defenders would cruise to victory after Valdez anchored a 10-2 start. The three-time UAAP MVP scored two aces in the run, while Soriano and Dzi Gervacio provided additional scoring punch.

Bali Pure built a comfortable 14-7 lead off a kill by Ahomiro, but the Lady Maroons refused to go down quietly. Molde scored four straight points, out-smarting the Bali Pure blockers then targeting an open spot on their court to save four match points. The Water Defenders did not help their cause as Soltones sent an attack straight to the net to allow UP to come to within two points, 12-14.

It was Valdez who came to the rescue. Despite a poor reception, Bali Pure managed send the ball her way and she responded with a sharp crosscourt kill that UP was unable to deal with.

The Water Defenders wrapped up the victory in an hour and 53 minutes. It was their second five-set win of the tournament.

"Medyo mabagal ang start," admitted Soriano. "We were very hesitant, but eventually, we picked up our game. Nag-usap-usap ang lahat, and we really motivated each other."

"It was a struggle," Valdez said of her first game. "First time ko rin maging teammates ang iba… but it's very important na 'yung pinag-sama-samahan ng mga tao inside the court, and I think 'yun ang nakapag-pull through sa amin in today's game."

Soltones had 15 points and 19 digs, while Ahomiro finished with 10 points for the Water Defenders, who improved to 3-1 and climbed to joint second place with Air Force.

Molde, the Rookie of the Year in the UAAP Season 78 tournament, finished with 22 points on 18 attacks and two aces. Bersola added 19 points on 11 attacks and eight blocks. As a team, UP had 14 rejections to Bali Pure's three.

The Lady Maroons dropped to 1-3, tied with Team Iriga for joint fifth place.

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