IN PURSUIT of a place in the Final Four, the Ateneo Blue Eagles crushed the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons 19-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-19, yesterday at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
This crucial victory placed the Blue and White at 8-6 in the team standings to close the second round of eliminations in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Several players immediately stepped up for Ateneo’s offense—kickstarted by Joan Narit with her defensive blocking and quick releases from the middle. Her offense was followed by more aggressive attacks from Faith Nisperos and Alexis Miner.
The momentum shifted to UP’s side when the team’s best scorer, Alyssa Bertolano, broke through a double block from the wing, finding a gap in the Blue Eagles’ floor defense. Aided by Jewel Encarnacion and Stephanie Bustrillo’s varied hits and Lorie Bernardo’s two consecutive blocks, the Fighting Maroons orchestrated a 0-6 run, which Ateneo failed to recover from. UP finished the first set with fired-up Bertolano scoring the last three points for her team off individual plays, 25-19 for UP.
Responding to their first set loss, the Blue and White began the second set with successful offensive strategies, handing Ateneo an early 10-6 lead. UP was quick to recover, as Diliman cut the lead down to four with Bernardo and Bertolano’s impressive placement of attacks. The Blue Eagles wasted no time in responding as Erika Raagas notched backrow attacks and Miner contributed running attacks of her own. Ateneo’s lead ballooned to double-digits, 21-10, after an attack from UP’s Encarnacion went wide and Miner scored off the middle. Inching closer to securing the set, Nisperos scored three straight points to rally them at set point and eventually set victory at 25-11.
Both teams exchanged runs in the third set, which Ateneo began with their 7-0 scoring spree courtesy of two solid blocks from Miner that afforded the Blue Eagles an early six-point lead, 9-3. Following two attack errors from Ateneo, Bertolano and Encarnacion took advantage of the miscalculations to cook up five straight spikes that tied the set at 11-11. Ateneo picked up the pace both offensively and defensively as they denied the Fighting Maroons any chance at sustaining their scoring—leading the Blue and White to win the set at 25-18 through an attack error.
Similar to the third set, Ateneo and UP traded off points with their offensive runs. Encarnacion and Bernardo contributed an aggressive attack and a soft touch to tie the game, 6-6. UP’s Bertolano continued to disrupt the Blue Eagles’ defense, 14-15, to maintain the neck-and-neck scores. Even with solid blocking from UP, Ateneo’s Vanie Gandler managed to break through the UP defense and extend the Ateneo lead by two points. The trend continued for Gandler as she scored yet again via an attack from outside, as her stellar offense in the fourth set secured the match for Ateneo at 25-19.
Earning her spot as a starter, Raagas chalked up 12 crucial points to assist the Blue Eagles’ top scorers Nisperos and Miner who produced 19 and 17 points, respectively. For the Fighting Maroons, they concluded their UAAP Season 84 campaign with Bertolano scoring 24 points and Encarnacion contributing 18 points of her own.
To compete for the final spot in the Final Four, the Blue Eagles will square off against Adamson University in a must-win playoff match on Saturday, June 11, 5:00 PM at the MOA Arena.
Set Score:
Ateneo-UP: 19-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-19
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Nisperos – 19, Miner – 17, Gandler – 14, Raagas – 12, Narit – 5, Maraguinot – 3, Fujimoto – 1
UP: Bertolano – 24, Encarnacion – 18, Bernardo – 6, Bustrillo – 6, Arce – 2, Sotomil – 1, Ytang – 1
