THE ATENEO-MOTOLITE Lady Eagles exact revenge on the Creamline Cool Smashers in five sets, 25-18, 25-20, 15-25, 23-25, 15-12, in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference on Sunday, October 29, at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum.

Coach Oliver Almadro fielded his usual starting six with Team Captain Bea de Leon and Maddie Madayag in charge of the net defense in the middle. Deanna Wong played as the setter with Kat Tolentino as her utility spiker. Vanie Gandler took flight as an open hitter. Meanwhile, Dani Ravena was in charge of manning the floor defense for the Lady Eagles. The only notable change in the starting line up was Ponggay Gaston starting as the other open spiker instead of Kim Gequilliana.

The Katipunan-based squad’s twin towers made it difficult for the Cool Smashers to penetrate the floor of the Lady Eagles; both Madayag and Tolentino managed to end the match with three block points each. De Leon shined from both the middle and the service line, with eight points from spikes and five aces. Wong had an excellent game as both a setter and a defender with 38 excellent sets and 14 excellent digs.

Both sqayds traded points to open proceedings. Tolentino was able to bring the young squad of Lady Eagles to the first technical timeout (TTO) with a powerful down-the-line spike, 8-6. Creamline’s errors began to pile up which propelled the Lady Eagles into the second TTO with a 16-10 advantage. Looking  to turn things around, the Cool Smashers went on a 3-0 run, 18-15, but the Lady Eagles closed the set with an ace from Gandler, 25-18.

The Cool Smashers took charge early in the second set by pouncing on the faulty defense of the Lady Eagles, 9-14. After the second TTO, de Leon executed a massive block that sparked a 6-0 for the girls in Blue and White. Veterans Tolentino and de Leon led by example as they put the second set to bed by scoring the last two points for the Lady Eagles, 25-20.

Although the early third set saw both teams struggle to establish a substantial lead, the Creamline Cool Smashers did well to take control after the second TTO, leading the Lady Eagles, 13-16. Samonte’s net violation and powerful spikes from Alyssa Valdez doomed the Lady Eagles in the third set, 15-25.

After the Cool Smashers scored the first two points in the fourth set, the Lady Eagles went on a 5-0 run with three of those points coming from de Leon’s heavy service aces. Despite going into the second TTO with 16-12 lead, Ateneo could not close the game out. The Cool Smashers scored three consecutive points forcing Ateneo into a crucial timeout at 22-all. The Cool Smashers kept their nerve to end the fourth set with another Valdez kill, 23-25.

Both sets of players showed no signs of exhaustion as they exchanged points in the deciding fifth set. Neither team’s lead was ever more than two points until the set entered its final stages. At 11-12, de Leon scored a powerful spike which turned the tables in favor of the Lady Eagles. This began the final 4-0 run, with Gandler scoring the last point by blocking the former Queen Eagle, Valdez.

This victory gives the Ateneo Motolite-Lady Eagles the top spot in the standings with a 7-2 record. The ladies in Blue and White will take on the Tacloban Fighting Warays on November 3 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City, Manila.

Set Score

Ateneo-CCS: 25-18, 25-20, 15-25, 23-25, 15-12