THE ATENEO Lady Spikers started the much-awaited women’s volleyball season with a Shakey’s V-league finals rematch against the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs. But the Lady Spikers were swept by NU in three sets, 17-25, 22-25 and 17-25 at the jam-packed Araneta Coliseum.
The girls in Blue and White started the match with a brilliant offense, propelling them to an early 6-5 advantage. Amy Ahomiro led the Lady Spikers’ strong start, using her height effectively to secure several points.
The game then progressed with a back-and-forth affair between the Ateneo’s team captain Alyssa Valdez and NU’s Santiago sisters, Dada and Jaja. Unfortunately, the sheer power of the Santiago sisters, coupled with the Lady Spikers’ unforced errors, were too much for the Ateneo team to handle. The first set ended with a score of 25-17 in favor of NU.
The second set kicked-off with a flurry of unforced errors from both teams, which led to a tie at 3-all. But the Santiago sisters posed a legitimate offensive threat, and the Lady Bulldogs were able to recover quickly. NU was then leading at 8-4.
The Lady Bulldogs were slowly pulling away, but the Ateneo team responded with composure. Players Bea Tan, Michelle Morente and Ana Gopico chipped in to help Valdez slow trim NU’s lead down to one point at 17-18. Unfortunately for the Lady Spikers, their unforced errors continued to hurt them. With the Ateneo trailing by two and NU already at set-point, Morente fired up a service error that secured the second set for NU.
Despite trailing behind by two sets on the scoreboard, the Ateneo came out firing at the start of the third set, tallying the first three points. NU, however, refused to let the Ateneo gain further momentum. Lady Bulldog Jaja Santiago led her team’s quick response, which allowed NU to enter the set’s first technical timeout with a slim 8-7 lead.
The two squads found themselves in a tight contest before a questionable call shifted the momentum to NU’s side. The referee’s decision to consider Tan’s hit as out of bounds gave NU some separation, 15-13. The Lady Spikers failed to recover after that as the Lady Bulldogs cruised to grab their first win of the season off of a 10-4 offensive surge that sealed the victory.
Valdez led the Lady Spikers with 16 points while rookie Julia Morado tallied a game-high 27 excellent sets.
The Santiago sisters combined for 26 points, 18 from Dada and 8 from Jaja, to lead NU to its first win of the season. “Nagamit talaga nila yung height nila (They were really able to take advantage of their height),” points out NU Head Coach Edjet Mabbayad.
Aiko Urdas and Myla Pablo also proved to be key components in the Bulldog’s victory as the Ateneo struggled to stop their offensive attacks.
The game served as the UAAP debut of Lady Spikers rookies Gopico, Morado, Morente and Kim Gequillana. It was also Head Coach Anusorn “Tai” Bundit’s first game patrolling the sidelines for the Lady Spikers. Bundit took over for Roger Gorayeb, who stepped down earlier in the year.
The Lady Spikers will seek to notch their first win next Saturday, December 7, 4:00 PM when they take on Far Eastern University at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
Box scores:
ATENEO (0) vs. NU (3) – 17-25, 22-25, 17-25.
ATENEO – Valdez 16, Ahomiro 8, Morente 6, Gopico 4, Tan 2, Morado 1 and Patnongon 1.
NU – D Santiago 18, J Santiago 8, Agano
