THE ATENEO Blue Eagles surrendered to the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers 25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, 12-15, as they were unable to secure another five-set win earlier today at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
This loss places the Blue and White at 7-6 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 Women’s Volleyball Tournament standings.
Faith Nisperos and Alexis Miner led the Blue Eagles in the game’s first set, as they released power hits and running attacks, respectively. Despite Ateneo’s offensive firepower, the combined efforts of Jolina Dela Cruz and Alleiah Malaluan gave DLSU a strong start that was sufficient to counter the Blue Eagles. However, errors mounted for the Lady Spikers on both the offensive and defensive ends, allowing Ateneo to take advantage of DLSU’s scrambled plays. Despite the Lady Spikers’ late comeback attempt courtesy of varied spikes from Fifi Sharma, Thea Gagate, and Jyne Soreño, the Blue and White claimed the first set, 25-19.
Avenging their loss from the previous set, the Lady Spikers began the second with clearer plays and more heat, as Soreño continued to warm up with her drop balls. Mirroring DLSU’s errors in the first canto, the Blue Eagles immediately accumulated their own, affording their opponent an early four-point lead, 2-6. Malaluan stepped up for the Lady Spikers, as she engaged her back row and crosscourt spikes. Ateneo dropped four consecutive errors mid-game, which paved the way for DLSU’s 11-17 advantage, resulting from a 7-1 run.
While Nisperos and Erika Raagas continued to attack for the Blue Eagles, the more aggressive Lady Spikers owned the second set, closing it with a play made possible by an over-received Ateneo ball, 25-18 for DLSU.
The beginning of the third set was marked by an early deadlock at 5-5 due to Ateneo and DLSU’s successful offensive strategies. Ateneo’s offense sparked as Miner shut the door on Malaluan and gave the Blue Eagles a four-point lead, 9-5. Sharma responded with her own defensive wall on Nisperos and the Lady Spikers continued to prevent Ateneo from successfully attacking with their defensive strategies. After being checked at the net, Vanie Gandler recovered through a combination play set up by Jaja Maraguinot, 17-15. Riding on their momentum, Nisperos overpowered DLSU’s defense and Joan Narit continued to work defensively in order to boost Ateneo’s lead. Gandler’s attack off the hands of DLSU’s blockers concluded the set, 25-20.
Unable to build on their momentum from the previous set, the Blue Eagles struggled to score at the beginning of the fourth due to their errors. Dela Cruz led the Lady Spikers with an eight-point lead off of her impressive attacks, 13-5. Ateneo was unsuccessful in penetrating the defensive wall of the Taft-based troop, leaving them with a nine-point deficit. With Nisperos and Raagas taking charge, Ateneo managed to trim the lead to seven, 15-22. Momentum began to swing Ateneo’s way as Nisperos utilized crosscourt and down-the-line shots to notch three straight points for her team. DLSU put a stop to Ateneo’s onslaught with Gagate’s kill from the middle, ending the set at 22-25.
As the momentum shifted to the Green and White, Gagate and Malaluan’s combined efforts placed them with a three-point lead, 1-4 to open the fifth set. The first half of the final set remained neck-and-neck as both teams had their fair share of errors and successful attacks that set another tie at 8-8. The Lady Spikers remained relentless with their defensive strategies as they blocked Raagas to score two straight points. Despite Nisperos’ attempt to reignite her team with two impressive attacks, the Blue and White committed three straight errors, placing DLSU at match point, 10-14. While the Blue Eagles managed to score two straight points after, DLSU’s Soreño ended the match with an off-the-block hit, 12-15.
Miner scored eight points off a service ace and her running attacks distributed across the five-set game, which aided in Nisperos and Raagas’ 29 and 17 markers, respectively. For the Lady Spikers, Malaluan and Soreño each recorded 17, assisted by Dela Cruz’s own 14 points, to deliver their team to victory.
Going into their final match for Round 2, the Blue Eagles will challenge the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons on Thursday, June 9, 6:30 PM, at the MOA Arena.
Set Score:
Ateneo-DLSU: 25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, 12-15
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Nisperos – 29, Raagas – 17, Gandler – 10, Miner – 8, Narit – 3, Maraguinot – 3, Fujimoto – 1, De Guzman – 1
DLSU: Malaluan – 17, Soreño – 17, Dela Cruz – 14, Gagate – 12, Sharma – 7, Alba – 5, Cruz – 2
