The Ateneo Blue Spikers emerged second from the first round of Season 71 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines’ Volleyball. The University of Santo Tomas (UST) currently leads the season.
Being in the rebuilding stages with rookies Duane Teves (I AB IS) and RP team veteran Xavier Señoren (I BS CTM) in the starting line-up did not hinder the Spikers, who exhibited strong defense and coordination under the guidance of Team Captain AJ Pareja (IV BS Bio) and Timothy Sto. Tomas (MBA), two of the top scorers in the league. The team has a 5-1 record after the first round of the eliminations.
Progressive start
Ateneo was off to a fast start as they secured identical 3-1 victories against University of the East (UE) and Adamson University (AdU). The match against UE gave the team confidence early on as the Spikers set the bar during the first set with 25-18 but slightly faltered with a 25-22 slip in the second set. However, the drop did not dampen the team’s winning streak after they rebounded in the last two sets when they denied UE the collective four points to win the second half of the game.
“[It] was a close fight,” Señoren said. “[But] our seniors really showed that they wanted to win so they stepped up when we needed them most.” The Blue Spikers defeated UE in four sets.
The victory against UE was disproved as a one-shot deal as the Blue Spikers won against last season’s third placer Adamson in four sets, 3-1, 5-up. The team let their guard down as they dropped the first set, 25-20, in their rival’s favor, but eventually sank their claws in for the final three sets, annihilating AdU with winning sets of 25-23, 25-22, and 25-20.
In the same turn of events, the age-old rivalry against De La Salle University (DLSU) did not prove to be too big a challenge for the Blue Spikers. The team struggled with the first two sets, coming short of five and four points respectively, 25-20 and 25-21, with DLSU’s formidable offense and trash talking tactics.
The Blue Spikers rallied and came together by the third set with key players Pareja, newcomer Rey Africa (I AB IS), and Eduardo Ortega (II BS Mgt) backing up their offense. They found a weak spot in DLSU’s libero and focused their serves at that area, proving effective as the Archers could not gain the counter offensive back enough to break the Ateneo’s offensive attack. The change in strategy assured the Blue Spikers’ triumph after the fourth set with 25-11. Ateneo won with 106 over DLSU’s 97 points.
Straight sets
The men’s volleyball team started and ended strong in the game against Far Eastern University last December, sweeping the match 75-58 in three sets, 25-19, 25-23, and 25-16. The game featured two very young teams who played with numerous errors.
The same cannot be said for the team’s fifth game in the elimination round. The Spikers did not fare very well in their next match against undefeated champion UST, which holds some of the league’s best spikers along with excellent defense and offense to boot. The team barely managed to defend their rank and buckled in three sets against the Tigers with 25-16, 25-14, and 25-18.
The tides turned for the Blue and White when National University (NU) stepped up to the court. Having previously beaten NU in an off-season game, the men’s team won the match confidently in three sets and deprived NU any opportunities for a comeback.
The Spikers have trained harder than ever, focusing on defense and teamwork under the watchful eye of Head Coach Oliver Almadro and Assistant Coach Efren Amorato.
