THE ATENEO Women’s Volleyball Team opened Season 75 with a 3-2 win against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws on December 1, Saturday at the San Juan Arena.
FEU scored the first point of the match and played well in digging and blocking Ateneo’s attacks. Team Ateneo, however, didn’t take their feet off the gas pedal once they tied the game at six-all.
The Lady Tamaraws struggled in their serves as excellent court vision by Jem Ferrer caught FEU by surprise with excellent placement and setting while Alyssa Valdez and Fille Cainglet were their usual scoring selves. Ateneo took the first set, 25-19.
The second set favored the Lady Tamaraws as they led by the second technical timeout, 16-12, but deadeye serves by Dzi Gervacio and steady play by Ferrer helped Ateneo bounce back into the set. With the additional spark provided by Marge Tejada off the bench, the Lady Eagles won the second set, 25-22.
The third set, however, proved challenging as the Lady Spikers trailed 1-8 by the first technical time out. They were hesitant in receiving FEU’s serves and miscommunication on the floor cost them their momentum. Three service aces from FEU and five unforced errors from Ateneo harmed the Lady Eagles’ hopes of sweeping the match. Coach Gorayeb subbed out most of the starters in order to adjust to FEU’s onslaught, but the damage was too much to handle as Ateneo dropped the third set, 6-25.
With the momentum completely on their side, the Lady Tamaraws gained an early 8-5 lead care of Mayjorie Roxas’ well-placed serves. Valdez retaliated and tied the game at 11-all as she used her athleticism to gain the advantage over FEU’s defense. Ferrer served teammate Valdez in numerous attacks that gave Ateneo a big lead, 22-18, late in the set.
FEU’s Rosemarie Vargas, however, answered back with a combination of cross-court and down-the-line spikes that sparked a comeback that brought the lead down to 24-23. Valdez responded with two straight points to give Ateneo their first match point of the game. Unfortunately for them, FEU did not let up as they found empty spaces in the Lady Eagles’ defense and forced a final set with a 25-27 fourth set victory.
In the end, the experience of Ateneo proved too much for the Lady Tamaraws. Gretchen Ho, Ferrer, Cainglet and Valdez played smart and built their lead to five, 12-7. FEU kept the fight going, but it was futile as Tejada and Gervacio placed the finishing touches in the five-set season opener. Valdez was named the player of the game with 26 points. Twenty-two came from attacks, three from her service and one block.
The Lady Spikers will next face UE on Wednesday, December 5 at The Arena in San Juan.
