FRESH FROM their defeat against the back-to-back defending champions the De La Salle Lady Spikers, the Ateneo Lady Eagles suffered another defeat against the tough Adamson Lady Falcons last Sunday, January 20, in The Arena in San Juan.
Ateneo started the match on fire, connecting well in their spikes and anticipating well in their blocks. From Alyssa Valdez’s aggressive attacks, to Angeline Gervacio’s excellent service play, Ateneo took the first set easily. Playing without their veteran starter, Fille Cainglet, Ella De Jesus stepped in for her scoring duties.
Ateneo was up by as much as eight, 16-8, in the first set when Adamson started their comeback. The Lady Eagles displayed several unforced errors, which the Lady Falcon duo of Pau Soriano and Mayette Zapanta took advantage of. The momentum quickly changed as Adamson closed the set off with a 12-6 scoring run to give the Ateneo Lady Eagles the 22-25 defeat in the first set.
Carrying the spark they provided in the previous set, the Lady Falcons kicked off the second with a 6-3 start. Ateneo retook take the lead, 8-7, but toth teams would exchange in scoring, unallowing either to pull away. Valdez and De Jesus provided some high-flying action to match Soriano and Zapanta’s offensive attacks.
Later on, the combo of Jem Ferrer and Gretchen Ho which tied the game at 21-all would be the last point of the set for the lady Eagles as Adamson would finish things off with a 4-0 run to win, 25-21.
Adamson started the third set quickly with a 7-2 lead. Ateneo, however, responded and snatched the lead again at 10-9 care of De Jesus and Valdez’s scoring. The De Jesus and Valdez tandem carried the team to an easy win as everything started to fall in place. The Lady Eagles finished the set off with an emphatic De Jesus spike, 25-19.
The fourth set spelled the same story for the Ateneo as Valdez and De Jesus picked up the steam to carry the team to an easy 25-16 win. Gervacio provided the offense with her reliable serves while Ho finished things off with her aggressiveness, forcing the match into a fifth and final set.
The final set saw Adamson shaking off their rust by started things off with a 4-0 lead. Despite the valiant effort of De Jesus and company to cut the lead down to 9-10, Adamson’s offense led by Sheila Pineda was too much for Ateneo’s defense as the Lady Falcons won the set, 15-10.
The Lady Spikers are now on a two-game losing streak and they have a win-loss record of 6-2.
