MANILA, Philippines - (UPDATED) The De La Salle Lady Spikers completed a historic sweep of the UAAP Seaon 74 women's volleyball tournament, defeating rivals Ateneo de Manila Lady Eagles in five hard-fought sets Sunday afternoon before a full house at The Arena in San Juan.

Angeline Marie Gervacio (6) and Gretchen Ho (3) of Ateneo against Abigail Marano (2) of La Salle.

La Salle bucked a slow start and an up-and-down game to win their 14th straight assignment this season and their 25th straight game dating back to January 2011 with scores of 18-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-19 and 15-7.

The Lady Spikers booked an outright berth in the Finals along with a thrice-to-beat advantage. They will need to win only once in the finals to win their second straight volleyball championship.

With La Salle's sweep, the other Final Four teams will feature in a step-ladder format to determine who will face the Lady Spikers in the finals.

Ateneo got off to a strong start thanks to excellent serves by Dzi Gervacio and took the first set 25-18. It was the first set that La Salle had dropped in the second round of the elimination.

The Lady Spikers took the second set easily to tie the game up, but were pushed to the brink after Ateneo won the third set. La Salle had several reception errors, including a costly one from team captain Cha Cruz that gave the Lady Eagles the set point.

But the Lady Spikers took control back in the fourth set and outclassed the Lady Eagles in the final set to complete the sweep of the elimination rounds -- a feat they also achieved in 2004, when they won the volleyball title outright.

Abigail Marano starred with 20 points on 19 attacks and one block, but it was DLSU's impressive net defense and coverage that stymied Ateneo's vaunted offense. Cruz also finished with 19 points.

Sophomore setter Mikaela Esperanza outplayed Ateneo's Jem Ferrer, dishing out 71 excellent sets to Ferrer's 62.

"Sinabi ko sa kanya (Esperanza) na magtiwala lamang sa sarili n'ya at sa mga spikers," said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus. "Maganda ang mga bigay niya sa mga attacker kaya tumaas ang kanyang kumpiyansa."

Ateneo's rookie star Alyssa Valdez and team captain Fille Cainglet both finished with 16 points. None of the Ateneo attackers were effective in the fifth set, however, while La Salle's Marano and rookie Mika Reyes took turns in scoring.

The Lady Eagles ended up with an 11-3 record, which is still the best finish in school history. They will have a twice-to-beat advantage in the step-ladder semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws will face off the Adamson University Lady Falcons in a playoff for the fourth seed on Monday at The Arena. The winner will face off against the third-seeded University of Santo Tomas.

The winner of that match-up will go on to face the Lady Eagles, who have yet to win a volleyball championship since joining the league in 1978.